Prices for imported rebar have tumbled in Asia over the past week, following sharp drops in billet and raw material prices. Turkey has been more active in sales to the region, while trading was very weak over the past few months.
In particular, a deal for 40,000 mt of rebar from Turkey was done at $670/mt CFR Hong Kong late last week, while the previous booking to Hong Kong was reported ten days ago for an ex-Middle East cargo at $710/mt CFR. The average freight from Turkey to Hong Kong has been assessed by market sources at $45/mt, translating to $625/mt FOB, though there has been no final confirmation of the contract by the time of publication. After a sharp drop in scrap prices last week, Turkish mills have been cutting rebar prices in both local and export markets.
No new trades for imported rebar have been reported to Singapore, but, with this current booking to Hong Kong the reference import price of rebar in Singapore is said to have slipped to $650-660/mt CFR, showing the negative impact of declining billet and scrap prices. The price range is $50-60/mt below that seen ten days ago. Offers from the Middle East and the ASEAN region have been at $660-680/mt CFR Singapore theoretical weight.
Ex-China rebar offer prices have been heard at $670-700/mt FOB, for June shipment, moving down by $60/mt on average compared to June 17.
“Summer is the traditional offseason for the rebar market due to high temperatures and heavy rainfall curbing demand, while China’s stimulus policy has boosted market sentiment in a limited way. It is thought that rebar prices may edge down further,” an international trader said.
Average rebar spot prices in China have lost RMB 220/mt ($33/mt) compared to June 17, but have increased by RMB 46/mt ($7/mt) compared to June 20, standing at RMB 4,323/mt ($647/mt) ex-warehouse today, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
On June 27, rebar futures contract (rb2210) offers closed at RMB 4,274/mt ($639/mt) at Shanghai Futures Exchange, up RMB 125/mt ($19/mt) or 3.0 percent compared to June 20. However, compared to June 17 futures are RMB 80/mt ($12/mt) lower, as rebound in futures has mostly been seen since late last week.
$1 = RMB 6.685