Posted on 27 Nov 2020
The East Asian import market for wire rod continued to surge over the past week, Kallanish notes. Wire rod appears to be outperforming rebar amid tight Chinese export supply brought about by strong domestic demand in China.
Offers for SAE 1008 wire rod from Southeast Asia are prevailing at $555-560/tonne cfr Manila. These are $10/t higher from the week before. Offers from China are at $580-585/t cfr, which is $20-25/t higher week-on-week.
A Manila trader reports a deal for Indonesian-origin wire rod for December shipment at around $540/t cfr early this week. While he heard the highest offer at $565/t cfr on Thursday, some traders are still inviting bids at $555-558/t cfr bids. Wire rod made by induction furnace in Vietnam was recently ordered at $545/t cfr Manila. It was for January/February shipment.
Supply of Chinese wire rod is tight with certain Chinese mills indicating that they are already sold out for February shipments. Mills are possibly sold out but traders are holding positions, a trader says. Negotiations for an order for January shipment are currently taking place, he adds.
A Chinese trader says his company is offering 6.5mm SAE 1006 wire rod for January/February shipment at $600/t fob but "probably some of the northern mills can do at $580/t." The strong Chinese domestic PC wire market is supporting wire rod demand, a regional trader says. Freight between China and the Philippines is estimated at $25/t.
Kallanish assessed SAE 1008 6.5mm diameter wire rod at $550-555/t cfr Manila on Thursday. This is $10/t higher on-week and up by $50/t from the first week of November.
Source:Kallanish
