Taiwan’s import scrap market has continued to soften in the current week. Since finished steel demand, particularly demand for rebar is almost nonexistent in the country, there is no appetite for import scrap. “Not just scrap though, there is no appetite to buy billets either,” a Taiwanese buyer commented, adding, “Sentiment in the international finished steel market is not good, hence we are not motivated to conclude purchases for large tonnages of scrap. And we have already bought enough.” As domestic scrap flow in South Korea is better than average, market players report that there is no reason for prices to move up. While South Korean mills are considering when to lower their scrap prices, one mill already announced a cut in its domestic scrap purchase quotations starting from yesterday, March 30. A South Korean source working for a major producer stated, “I believe all the mills will do the same with a slightly different timeline, so there is not much interest in import scrap at this point. We may be in the market for the Japanese to drop the price further and buy a small volume of scrap, to signal to the domestic and import markets regarding the weak sentiment.”
This week, a deal for ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in containers to Taiwan was done at $395/mt CFR, decreasing by $20/mt from the lowest offer levels received from the US late last week. A Taiwanese buyer said, “US-based suppliers are unwilling to cut their prices further, and so maybe we have hit the bottom for this grade.”
The lowest offer levels for Japanese H1/2 50:50 scrap by bulk to Taiwan are now at $430/mt CFR, $10/mt lower than $440/mt CFR recorded last week. “Japanese scrap is still expensive as compared to containerized material. Considering the offers, I think a deal in the range of $420-425/mt CFR is possible for Taiwan,” a player reported.
Domestic HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices in Taiwan have declined by TWD 300/mt or $11/mt to TWD 12,500/mt ($410/mt) ex-works. The official domestic rebar prices in Taiwan have also moved down, by TWD 300/mt or $12/mt to TWD 20,400/mt ($669/mt) ex-works.
$1 = TWD 30.50