Having purchased their import scrap needs in the first half of March and having taken a step back from the market in the second half of the same month, Taiwanese buyers are under no pressure to conclude scrap purchases. As a result, the Taiwanese scrap market was quiet when April started with a holiday in the country. “The international scrap market is going down, particularly ex-US scrap offers are soft. Also, Japanese scrap quotations are stabilizing,” a source from a Taiwanese mill commented. Accordingly, Taiwanese buyers have focused on ex-US scrap, which was out of the market for two weeks, and are trying to exert pressure on prices, testing the water with lower bids for scrap of all origins.
Offers for ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in containers to Taiwan have decreased from $575-580/mt CFR earlier this week to $565-570/mt CFR, and market players report that deals were closed at $565/mt CFR. A Taiwanese mill stated that its bids for this grade today, April 8, are at $560/mt CFR.
Meanwhile, HMS I/II 80:20 scrap from Australia is now slightly lower than ex-US material and is at $560/mt CFR, fixed in deals. The price for Australian HMS I/II 80:20 scrap is expected to decline another $5/mt in the coming deals.
This means that the SteelOrbis reference price for import HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in containers in Taiwan has been at $560-565/mt CFR this week, stable since last week, though last week the price has been mainly indicative without much trading seen.
Japanese H1/2 50:50 scrap by bulk has been offered to Taiwan at $595-600/mt as compared to $600/mt CFR recorded last week. The bids from Taiwanese buyers are mostly around $590/mt CFR and below. “They will most probably accept a price around $590/mt CFR, but for lower bids closer to $585/mt CFR we will need to wait and see,” a player commented.
Domestic HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices in Taiwan have moved sideways at TWD 14,800/mt ($512/mt) ex-works, $4/mt lower on dollar basis week on week. The domestic scrap flow in Taiwan is healthy. In the same period, official domestic rebar prices in Taiwan have increased by TWD 200/mt to TWD 24,500/mt ($847/mt) ex-works while, due to the depreciation of the local currency, dollar-based prices remained stable week on week. “Local demand for rebar is fine, but players are very cautious due to decreasing international scrap prices. They do not have the confidence to continue buying rebar at current levels,” one market player commented. Finished steel prices in Taiwan are expected to move sideways for another week as players monitor developments.
$1 = TWD 28.92