The downtrend has prevailed in the Asian wire rod market with the rapid fall seen in the Chinese market and very limited demand in Southeast Asia.
By early this week the reference import prices of wire rod in ASEAN have slipped to $650/mt CFR Manila amid the slack demand, while previous offers were at $670/mt CFR as the lowest. However, by the end of this week, even lower levels have started to emerge from some suppliers as they have very bearish outlook and they have been trying to accelerate sales.
The lowest offers for ex-ASEAN 6.5mm IF wire rod has been heard in Thailand at $595/mt CFR. Also an Indonesian wire rod has been offered by a trader at $600-620/mt CFR Manila during the week.
Offers for ex-China wire rod have been heard at $640-670/mt FOB, moving down by $25/mt on average compared to the previous week.
“Extremely hot summer slackened the demand for wire rod, while the inventory level indicated a declining trend as steelmakers implemented maintenances to reduce the outputs. There is a gloomy expectation for the sluggish demand in the near future due to the outbreaks of Covid-19 pandemic, which will continue to negatively affect the wire rod market,” an international trader said.
As of July 15, rebar futures at the Shanghai Future Exchange are standing at RMB 3,589/mt ($532/mt), decreasing by RMB 607/mt ($90/mt) or 14.5 percent since July 8.