Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan's largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung, Central Taiwan, has cut its rebar list price further by another TWD 300/tonne ($10.8/t) for sales over December 13-17 in response to the sluggish demand from end-users, a company official confirmed on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the mini-mill has rolled over its buying price for locally-sourced scrap for this week.
With the latest adjustment, Feng Hsin's 13mm dia rebar price is again the lowest it's been since mid-May at TWD 21,500/t EXW, Mysteel Global noted. The mini-mill's procurement price for local HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap has stayed unchanged at TWD 11,700/t for the fifth week.
End-users in Taiwan are not active in stocking up rebar after noting the softening scrap prices in the global market, and that has prompted local mini-mills to lower their prices further to attract potential buyers.
"We have to concede a bit on our rebar selling prices this week, as offering prices of mills in southern Taiwan are lower," the company official said.
As of December 13, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap was assessed at $452/t CFR Taiwan, losing $8/t from one week earlier, while the price for Japan-origin H2 scrap also slipped for the second week by another $5/t on week to $480/t CFR Taiwan, according to the Taiwanese market source.
Nevertheless, Feng Hsin has kept its buying prices for locally-sourced scrap flat this week to encourage more deliveries to satisfy its demand, as the mini-mill has yet to slow down its rebar production though demand from end-users remains lukewarm, the official said.
"And they (end-users) are likely to be place fewer new orders if we cut our procurement price for local scrap, as they may expect a lower rebar list price then," he added.
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