Import scrap prices in Taiwan have again remained stable during the past week, having moved sideways in the previous week after hitting bottom levels. Market sources report that there are no signs of a recovery in the market despite the stable trend. A source at a major Taiwanese producer commented, “There is no rebar sales activity across Taiwan as the economy is slowing down. This may carry on for a while.” Meanwhile, leading Taiwanese steel producer Feng Hsin has kept its domestic rebar prices unchanged at TWD 16,100/mt ($552/mt) ex-works, with its dollar-based price up by $7/mt taking the exchange rate into account.
Offers for ex-US HMS I/II (80:20) scrap in containers to Taiwan are in the range of $295-297/mt CFR, moving down by a mere $1/mt/mt on the upper end. As a result, SteelOrbis’ report of the Taiwanese scrap market hitting the bottom, mentioned last week, has been confirmed. Actual deal prices this week were at $293-295/mt CFR, up $2/mt on the upper end week on week. Market sources report that the number of offers from the US is still limited.
Japanese H1/2 (50:50) scrap bulk cargoes have been offered at $314-325/mt CFR as compared to the $315-323/mt CFR range recorded last week. However, the actual price has declined slightly from last week’s $315/mt CFR for this grade to $313/mt CFR.
Over the past week, Feng Hsin has kept its scrap procurement prices stable at TWD 8,800/mt ($302/mt) delivered, up by $3/mt on US dollar basis.
