Following the drop observed in Japanese sellers’ offer prices to Taiwan last week, ex-US scrap prices have followed suit in the current week. Market sources report that Taiwanese mills are focusing on domestic scrap purchases, while the declines recorded in the Kanto tender and in Tokyo Steel’s domestic scrap prices and slower rebar trading are negatively impacting the mood in Taiwan’s import scrap market.
Meanwhile, the major Taiwanese producer Feng Hsin has kept its domestic rebar prices unchanged at 15,800/mt ($540/mt) ex-works, with dollar-based prices down by $5/mt taking the exchange rate into account. On the other hand, a northern Taiwanese producer has cut its prices this week, causing a general expectation of a fall in rebar prices in the coming week.
Over the past week, the number of offers for ex-US HMS I/II (80:20) scrap in containers to Taiwan have declined slightly, while the offer prices have moved from $295-297/mt CFR to $293-295/mt CFR. Actual deal prices have softened by $1-4/mt to $290-293/mt CFR.
Offer prices for Japanese H1/2 (50:50) scrap bulk cargoes have declined from last week’s $309-315/mt CFR to $308-309/mt CFR. The actual price in deals has remained stable though at $305-309/mt CFR.
Over the past week, Feng Hsin has kept its scrap procurement prices stable week on week at TWD 8,600/mt ($294/mt) delivered, down by $3/mt on US dollar basis. Sources report that a northern Taiwanese producer has cut its rebar price by TWD 200/mt, while the rest of the mills have followed Feng Hsin’s example and kept their prices stable. “The motivation for unchanged prices was to secure domestic scrap by keeping prices flat,” a player confirmed.
