Though the local Chinese market has improved over the past week, trading activity in the Asian wire rod market has remained muted and bids have been low. Mills voice a slight increase in offers, waiting for the situation to improve.
Offers for ex-China wire rod from second-tier mills have been heard at $520-530/mt FOB, moving up by $5/mt on average since last Friday
“In the Chinese domestic market, sentiments have improved to a certain degree, while downstream users have been more willing to purchase wire rod,” an international trader said. At the same time, ferrous metal futures prices have indicated a rebounding trend, exerting a positive impact on the wire rod market, while import iron ore prices have moved up in the given week, bolstering wire rod prices from the cost side.
Bearish sentiments have prevailed among players in the international market, and so there were few buyers initiating inquiries.
Offer prices of Indonesia-based Dexin Steel wire rod have been heard at $540/mt FOB, while offer prices of ex-Malaysia wire rod have been heard at $545/mt, FOB, both up by $5/mt over the past week. Offer prices from ex-Vietnam Hoa Phat have been heard at $550/mt FOB.
In Southeast Asia’s import market, bids have dropped to $510-525/mt CFR, while the lowest offers are still at $530 CFR. Some traders have been asking for $540-545/mt CFR.
As of March 22, rebar futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,612/mt ($509/mt), increasing by RMB 122/mt ($17.2/mt) or 3.5 percent since March 15, while up 0.7 percent compared to the previous trading day, March 21.
$1 = RMB 7.1004