Taiwan’s import scrap market has moved down over the past two weeks, which have included a holiday period. Before the holiday, the finished steel market was already silent and not much has changed since then. Due to the ongoing holiday in China, Taiwan is monitoring the market but has not made a significant move in terms of rebar trading. A source at one of the major Taiwanese producers said, “Sales will probably start next week.” In the current week, major Taiwanese producer Feng Hsin has increased its rebar prices by TWD 100/mt to TWD 19,400/mt ($619/mt) ex-works, with prices moving up by $2/mt on dollar-basis amid exchange rate fluctuations.
Offers for ex-US HMS I/II (80:20) scrap in containers to Taiwan have moved down over the past two weeks to $372-382/mt. Before the holiday, this grade was offered in the range of $375-385/mt CFR. Deals have been done for ex-US containerized material at $368-370/mt CFR this week. The previous deals were closed at $380-382/mt CFR before the holiday, but expectations had already declined to around $375/mt CFR at that time.
Japanese scrap suppliers’ offers for H1/2 (50:50) scrap by bulk to Taiwan have moved to $380-391/mt CFR over the past two weeks, decreasing from $390-407/mt CFR. No deal from this range has been heard. A Japanese source commented, “Ex-Japan scrap quotations remain firm due to the weak yen.”
Domestic HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices in Taiwan have remained stable at TWD 12,000/mt ($383/mt) delivered to mill, moving down by $1/mt as compared to January 26.
$1 = TWD 31.36