While Taiwanese buyers bought some cargoes from the US at the beginning of the week at higher prices, they have made no bookings from Japan as the gap between ex-US and Japanese offers has widened once again. It is observed that Taiwanese buyers are showing some resistance to higher price levels, not accepting Japanese offers in particular.
Deals for ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in containers to Taiwan were closed at $440/mt CFR, up from the $430-435/mt from the levels in transactions last week. Currently, offers from the US for the same grade are in the range of $440-445/mt CFR. “As international scrap prices are rising, US suppliers have started to take a step back from Taiwan. Taiwanese buyers are not willing to pay high levels, this has led to a visible decrease in the number of ex-US cargoes offered to Taiwan toward the end of the week,” a source commented.
Offers from Japan to Taiwan for H1/2 50:50 scrap by bulk have moved up from $480-485/mt CFR to $490-500/mt CFR. “Offers from Japan indicated a sharp rise. Also, the gap between Japanese and ex-US offers has widened again. It is around $50/mt and is unacceptable for now,” a source commented. SteelOrbis has also learned that some Asian countries have stopped buying Japanese scrap due to its high price levels, while another source stated, “Japan always has support from its own domestic market.”
Domestic HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices in Taiwan have moved sideways at TWD 11,500/mt ($417/mt) week on week. As Taiwanese mills are maintaining a cautious stance toward import scrap, there is no effort to lower their domestic scrap purchase quotations. “If we do, they can easily sell the tonnages abroad,” a source commented.
During the past week, official domestic rebar prices in Taiwan have decreased by TWD 400/mt ($14.5/mt) to TWD 20,500/mt ($743/mt) ex-works. However, there have still been some deals closed at around TWD 20,200/mt ($732/mt) ex-works, which is considered to be the bottom for domestic rebar prices. “Although some producers accept to sell rebar at lower levels, the tonnages available at those levels are limited,” a source reported.
$1 = TWD 27.58