Southeast Asian mills have been insisting on higher prices for wire rod this week, while buyers have been cautious and the tradable level has remained stable. Average offer prices for ex-China wire rod have moved sideways over the past week despite the declining trend in rebar futures prices in China.
The tradable levels for import wire rod from Indonesia and Malaysia have been heard at $775-785/mt CFR Manila, in line with the last deals. But “I believe they would be offering their wire rods at around $790-800/mt CFR Philippines now,” a trader said.
Offers for ex-China wire rod have been heard at $740-780/mt FOB, remaining stable on average compared to February 17.
“The turbulent international situation has exerted a negative impact on the wire rod market, while market players expect better demand in the near future, which may bolster prices,” an international trader said.
The Russia-Ukraine crisis has shocked players in the futures market, resulting in a day-on-day decline of 2.89 percent in rebar futures prices on February 24, negatively affecting the wire rod market. The inventory of wire rod increased slightly as the production restrictions policy has eased after the Winter Olympics, while demand has not yet recovered to decent levels.
As of Thursday, February 24, rebar futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,637/mt ($732.5/mt), decreasing by RMB 49/mt ($7.7/mt) or 1.05 percent since February 17, while declining by 2.89 percent compared to the previous trading day (February 23).