Taiwanese producers have accepted further hikes for import and domestic scrap prices this week. Despite the ceasefire agreement between the US-Israel and Iran, the impacts of increased energy prices and continuing uncertainties are still reflected in the international scrap market. The sharp price increase in Japan’s scrap export tender has raised concerns in the regional scrap market. Japanese scrap suppliers have taken a step back and are expected to announce further increases in export prices. Major Taiwanese producer Feng Hsin has raised its domestic rebar prices by another TWD 200/mt over the past week to TWD 18100/mt ($570/mt) ex-works, with dollar-based prices increasing by $10/mt taking the exchange rate into account. “This is the sixth consecutive week of rebar price increases and we can say the market was shocked by the sharp increase observed in the Kanto tender. Mills are reluctant to sell rebar since securing scrap has become difficult,” a source added. Chinese billet prices have remained at around $485/mt CFR Taiwan, sources report. Russian billet exports are quiet again this week after they sold 35,000 mt to Taiwan two weeks ago.
Offer prices for ex-US HMS I/II (80:20) scrap in containers to Taiwan have increased over the past week from the range of $347-353/mt CFR to $356-360/mt CFR. Actual prices in ex-US deals have moved up from $347-349/mt CFR to $353-354/mt CFR.
Japanese H1/2 (50:50) offers to Taiwan were at $376/mt CFR before the rises announced by Tokyo Steel and the increase in the Kanto tender. Last week, Japanese sellers were out of the market, and now sources report they are waiting for their next offer levels.
Market sources report that the only offers they received from Japan have been for HS grades, at $388/mt CFR, as compared to last week’s $388-393/mt CFR. “Sellers are waiting for the Kanto tender to be concluded on April 9. Domestic scrap prices in Bangladesh and Japan are maintaining their upward trend and sellers show little to no interest in making offers to Taiwan,” a source added.
Feng Hsin has raised its scrap purchase prices by TWD 200/mt over the past week to TWD 10,400/mt ($327/mt) delivered, up by $8/mt on US dollar basis. “Despite the recent uptrend of local scrap prices, the gap between local and import scrap prices is still wide,” a source at a Taiwanese steel producer commented.
$1 = TWD 31.77
