Import scrap offers received by Taiwanese buyers have softened further this week. Since the gap between ex-US and Japanese scrap is tight, market players think Japanese sellers have a greater advantage now. “Japanese scrap is more competitive. Since Vietnam is not buying any scrap, they have felt the pressure,” a source at a major Taiwanese mill commented. While scrap demand in Taiwan is still poor, market players point to the slower scrap flow in their domestic market. SteelOrbis has learned that domestic scrap collection is still difficult in Taiwan. One player reported, “Now imports are cheaper than domestic scrap. This is a very strange situation for us.” Normally, Taiwanese mills procure half of their scrap needs from their domestic market. With the foreign scrap suppliers starting to show resistance to lower quotations, the main question is whether Taiwan’s import scrap market is close to hitting the bottom.
Late this week, offers for ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in containers to Taiwan were at $390-400/mt CFR, $10/mt higher on the upper end as compared to the lowest levels recorded in deals last week. However, earlier this week, offers for these grades were in the range of $390-405/mt CFR. SteelOrbis hears that ex-US scrap offers are limited in numbers. A Taiwanese source commented that this is due to low price levels.
The lowest offer levels for Japanese H1/2 50:50 scrap by bulk to Taiwan are now at $400-410/mt CFR, a $10/mt decline on the lower end week on week. However, Japanese scrap suppliers are more active in the market as compared to their competition. A source in Taiwan said this is the result of Vietnam’s absence from the scrap market.
Domestic HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices in Taiwan have increased by TWD 200/mt or $7/mt to TWD 12,700/mt ($417/mt) delivered to mill. The official domestic rebar prices in Taiwan have remained stable TWD 20,400/mt ($669/mt) ex-works.
$1 = TWD 30.46