Prices for imported rebar have increased in Asia with a few bookings done at higher levels late last week. But since the sentiment in the scrap market has changed to negative, Asian customers have also started to bid at lower levels for imported rebar.
One Turkish mill sold 50,000 mt of rebar to Hong Kong at $685/mt CFR actual weight basis. Also, there has been information about negotiations at $670/mt CFR with Chinese sellers, but a contract at this price level has not been confirmed so far. Last week, the tradable level for imported rebar in Hong Kong was at about $650-655/mt CFR.
Though higher prices have been fixed in deals, the overall mood in the market in Hong Kong has worsened by the end of this week and market sources said that bids are rare and down at least $10/mt.
In Singapore, the workable price level for imported rebar has been increased to $640-650/mt CFR on theoretical weight basis, up by $10-20/mt over the past week.
Ex-China rebar offer prices have been heard at $625-645/mt FOB, for late March shipment, rising by $5/mt on average compared to January 8. “The worsening Covid-19 pandemic in northern China has negatively affected transportation and construction activities, affecting rebar prices, while the limited supply of rebar to export markets has bolstered ex-China rebar offer prices,” an international trader said.
In the local market, rebar futures prices edged down in the first part of the given week, while they bottomed up on January 15, signaling that market players may be looking forward to a better situation for future rebar prices. Chinese steel mills may lower their export offer prices ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday to offset the negative impact of slack demand in their local market.
Average rebar spot prices in China have lost RMB 106/mt ($16.4/mt) week on week to RMB 4,357/mt ($674.5/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of January 15, rebar futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,360/mt ($675/mt), increasing by RMB 127/mt ($20/mt) or 2.83 percent since January 8.
$1 = RMB 6.4633