Taiwan’s import scrap prices have declined further this week. Market sources report that the drop in the international scrap market is causing local scrap quotations to move down, while trading in the local rebar market is sluggish. Taiwanese mills have cut their domestic scrap prices but have kept their rebar quotations stable this week. Leading Taiwanese steel producer Feng Hsin has kept its domestic rebar prices stable over the past week at TWD 17,200/mt ($564/mt) ex-works, with its dollar-based price up by $35/mt taking the exchange rate into account. The Taiwanese dollar has gained 6.48 percent in value week on week against the US dollar. Market sources report that rebar buyers concluded some deals last week after almost two months of silence, while trading has been mute once again in the current week.
Offers for ex-US HMS I/II (80:20) scrap in containers to Taiwan have moved down from the range of $295-303/mt CFR a week earlier to $285-295/mt. Actual deal prices have also moved down, by $5-7/mt to $285-290/mt CFR.
Due to the long Labor Day holiday, no offers have been shared for Japanese H1/2 (50:50) scrap bulk, market sources report.
At first Feng Hsin kept its scrap procurement price at TWD 9,400/mt ($308/mt) delivered, up by $19/mt on US dollar basis. But later in the week it announced a TWD 300/mt drop in its price to TWD 9,100/mt ($298/mt delivered, up by $9/mt on US dollar basis, against the backdrop of a fire at a steel mill in southern Taiwan that happened last Sunday and caused southern Taiwanese mills to cut their scrap purchase prices by TWD 300/mt on Monday. Producers in other regions followed suit on Wednesday, dropping their prices by TWD 300/mt.
$1 = TWD 30.51
