Southeast Asian wire rod suppliers have been insisting on higher prices, even though demand has remained poor. Average offer prices for ex-China wire rod have edged up slightly compared to the previous week, but sentiment in the local Chinese market has worsened after decreasing rebar futures prices at Shanghai Futures Exchange.
Wire rod prices from some large ASEAN producers have been heard at $780-790/mt CFR, versus $760-790/mt CFR to the Philippines and Thailand last week. In addition, one seller, who had offered at $740/mt CFR a week before, is asking for $750/mt CFR Manila at the moment. The price increase in the wire rod segment is linked to the relatively high prices for billet in the region. Nevertheless, demand has been under big pressure in Southeast Asia and the negative signals from the falling iron ore prices and the unsustained demand for billet in China have impacted the possibility of further increases.
Vietnamese producer Formosa Ha Tinh has cut its local wire rod prices by $20/mt since last month to $791/mt CFR, SteelOrbis learned early this week.
Offers for ex-China wire rod have been heard at $820-870/mt FOB, up $5/mt on average compared to the previous week, while rebar futures prices have moved down. “Major wire rod producers continued to cut their production in September, bolstering their offer prices, while the continuing Covid-19 pandemic in the ASEAN region reduced the demand for wire rod,” an international trader said.
As of September 17, rebar futures at the Shanghai Future Exchange are standing at RMB 5,478/mt ($849/mt), decreasing by RMB 162/mt ($25/mt) or 2.9 percent since September 10.
$1 = RMB 6.4527