Over the past week, Taiwan’s import scrap market has indicated a significant drop particularly in ex-US deals, while Japanese scrap prices have almost remained stable. One Taiwanese source reported, “There are no rebar deals at all since approximately 300,000 mt of rebar had changed hands during last two to three weeks. No one has an appetite for buying, especially when import scrap prices are still dropping.” In general, the Asian scrap market is soft with buyers taking a step back for various reasons. Vietnam is still waiting for a ministerial decision on billet import duties, while the South Koreans believe that the international scrap market will decline further and they are exerting pressure on quotations. Japanese players’ expectations are also pessimistic for now.
This week, the lowest offers for ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in containers to Taiwan are in the range of $415/mt CFR, decreasing by $20/mt week on week. This new level is lower than Taiwanese buyers’ target of $430/mt CFR at the end of last week, and one Taiwanese producer concluded a booking from the US at $420/mt CFR earlier this week.
Meanwhile, there are offers from Australia for the same grade in containers at even lower levels of around $410/mt CFR, with again a $20/mt drop seen in prices.
Offers for Japanese H1/2 50:50 scrap by bulk to Taiwan are slightly lower than $440/mt CFR, almost stable week on week. Japanese sources report that Japan’s scrap export prices are soft amid the appreciation of the yen against the US dollar.
Domestic HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices in Taiwan are currently at TWD 12,800/mt ($421/mt) ex-works. Official domestic rebar prices in Taiwan are at TWD 20,700/mt ($681/mt) ex-works.
$1 = TWD 30.37