Taiwan’s import scrap market has moved further down over the past week, but the allocation particularly in the US segment is still higher than usual. While Japanese suppliers have taken a step back from the Taiwanese market during their holidays, the impact of lower bids from South Korea has not yet been fully felt in Japanese scrap export prices. On the other hand, US bulk offers to Taiwan are still seen, exerting pressure with their higher allocations, though no deal has been heard this week. Also, alternative bulk scrap offers have been accepted by Taiwanese buyers this week.
Over the current week, ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in containers to Taiwan are at $350/mt CFR, down by $10/mt on the upper end from the $350-360/mt CFR range recorded last week. The number of offers from the US has also declined, according to sources, but there are some bulk cargo offers from the US and Australia.
This week, ex-US bulk HMS I/II 80:20 scrap offers have been standing at $390/mt CFR. There are no deals recorded at this level, but market players state that the offer prices are moving down slightly. A $5/mt decrease was observed for bulk offers. Meanwhile, an ex-Australia bulk HMS I/II 80:20 scrap deal was closed at $380/mt CFR Taiwan.
Due to the three-day long holiday in Japan, Taiwanese sources state that they are not hearing any offers for Japanese H1/2 50:50 scrap by bulk to Taiwan this week. Last week, offers were in the range of $390-395/mt CFR. “We see that Tokyo Steel decreased its prices two times this week, while South Korea-based Hyundai Steel’s bids have also decreased. But there are no lower prices offered to Taiwan yet,” a source commented.
Domestic HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices in Taiwan have remained stable at TWD 10,400/mt ($327 332/mt) ex-works. Due to the depreciation of the Taiwanese dollar against the US dollar, this stability caused prices to move down by $5/mt week on week. The official domestic rebar prices in Taiwan have also remained stable on Taiwanese dollar basis at TWD 20,300/mt ($639/mt) ex-works, down $5/mt on dollar basis. Exchange rate fluctuations are taken into consideration when calculating the dollar-based price changes.
Taiwan’s central bank has increased interest rates this week as they try to balance inflation and the slowing economy. The central bank raised interest rates by 12.5 basis points. According to Bloomberg, “Export orders have started to slow, gaining two percent in August from a year earlier, with orders from mainland China and Hong Kong falling by more than 25 percent. Manufacturing is also coming under pressure, with the purchasing managers index dropping in August to 42.7 - its lowest reading since May 2020.”
$1 = TWD 31.76