Taiwan’s import scrap prices have remained mostly stable over the past week. A contact at one major Taiwanese producer stated that domestic rebar sales this week have been on the low side, “because most deals were completed during August. Domestic rebar prices have reached a three-month high and market players prefer to wait and see.” Feng Hsin has kept its local rebar prices week on week at TWD 19,100/mt ($599/mt) ex-works, down by $2/mt amid exchange rate fluctuations. Meanwhile, South Korean mills are still out of the international scrap market and one South Korean source reports they may return next week “only for Japanese scrap.” Also, it is known that the Vietnamese scrap market is still silent. Accordingly, the stable trend of Taiwan’s import scrap quotations is not considered a surprise.
Over the past week, offers for ex-US HMS I/II (80:20) scrap in containers to Taiwan have remained stable at $375-380/mt CFR. Market players report that a deal may have been closed at around $370-372/mt CFR and workable levels have also remained unchanged week on week.
At the same time, Japanese scrap suppliers have kept their offers for H1/2 (50:50) scrap by bulk to Taiwan at $383-390/mt CFR, slightly up on the lower end of $380-390/mt CFR recorded last week. A deal was done by a major Taiwanese steelmaker this week at $383/mt CFR for this grade, though market players believe levels in the $380s/mt CFR are possible today, September 1.
Domestic HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices in Taiwan have moved sideways over the past week at TWD 11,900/mt ($373/mt) delivered to mill. Due to the depreciation of the Taiwanese dollar, US dollar-based prices have decreased by $1/mt.
$1 = TWD 31.86