Over the past week, Taiwan’s import scrap prices have followed the upward trend of the international scrap market. This week, domestic rebar sales in Taiwan have been silent once more since Taiwanese producers concluded some deals last week, but the positive sentiment surrounding the scrap segment has not changed. As Taiwanese producers believe scrap prices have more room to increase, they have accepted higher prices from the supplier regions. Market sources also report that the Kanto tender in Japan is also expected to record an increase this month. The leading Taiwanese steel producer Feng Hsin has raised its domestic rebar prices by TWD 300/mt over the past week to TWD 17,900/mt ($546/mt) ex-works, with its dollar-based quotations moving up by $10/mt taking into account exchange rate changes.
Offers for ex-US HMS I/II (80:20) scrap in containers to Taiwan have moved up this week from $315/mt CFR to $319-325/mt CFR. Market sources report that the number of offers from the US are limited. Actual deal prices have increased by $3-4/mt week on week to $317-318/mt this week.
The number of offers shared for Japanese H1/2 (50:50) scrap in bulk have increased this week, from almost zero in the previous week. The offers are now in the range of $328-330/mt CFR, moving up by $5-8/mt from the levels recorded two weeks ago. Taiwanese buyers have concluded bookings at $323-327/mt CFR.
Over the past week, Feng Hsin has increased its scrap procurement prices by TWD 300/mt to TWD 10,100/mt ($308/mt) delivered, up $10/mt on dollar basis. The upward movement of the import scrap segment is supporting the domestic market.
$1 = TWD 32.79