During the past week, ex-US scrap prices have gained some ground in Taiwan, while ex-Japan scrap quotations have remained stable.
Deals done for ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in containers to Taiwan were closed at $455-460/mt CFR in the current week, which is $5-10/mt higher than the offers shared last week. Market players state that this rise can be considered a slight one and that the approaching holidays will not change much for Taiwanese mills in terms of prices. “The US is not the only indicator. Recently, China has been playing a bigger role and we are watching it closely,” a source commented.
Meanwhile, offers from Japan to Taiwan for H1/2 50:50 scrap by bulk have remained stable at $490/mt CFR over the past week. “Despite the decreases observed in South Korea, not much has changed here,” a Taiwanese buyer stated. It is known that South Korean mills have maintenance works until the end of this year as SteelOrbis reported previously, but there are none in Taiwan. “Taiwan traditionally concludes its maintenance works in the summer as there are electricity problems experienced in that period,” a source stated.
Domestic HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices in Taiwan have also moved sideways at TWD 11,500/mt ($415/mt) week on week, while domestic rebar quotations in Taiwan are also stable at TWD 21,700/mt ($783/mt) ex-works. A source from one of the biggest mills in Taiwan stated, “Everything is stable right now, as we consider international scrap prices to be stable.” However, another source reports that this level of TWD 21,700/mt ex-works is too high right now. “Except for Feng Shin, mills are trying to keep their rebar prices in the range of TWD 21,200-21,400/mt ($765-772/mt) ex-works, which impacts the market negatively since its gives the impression that prices will move down further and will also affect scrap quotations in the coming period.”
$1 = TWD 27.71