Posted on 05 Mar 2021
Southeast Asian regional wire rod is more competitive than Chinese material, Kallanish notes. Regional trading has been sparse during the past week because of the sharp run-up in prices, especially in China, traders say.
As Chinese domestic prices have soared in recent days, some are seeing import buying interest in China. This is the reverse of the traditional trade flow since Southeast Asia is the major destination for Chinese wire rod.
A Thai trader heard a booking for Malaysian 6.5mm diameter wire rod at $675/tonne cif Thailand two weeks ago. Offers were subsequently hiked last week to $685/t cif and this week to $695/t cif.
Wire rod from Malaysia and Indonesia is offered this week at $680-685/t cfr Manila. Some say these prices are lower than expected given the price surge in China. "One has to wonder though how realistic these offers are. They could be indications from traders just fishing for business," a Manila trader says.
A Chinese mill has indicated offers for 6.5mm diameter wire rod at $715/t fob China, with freight estimated at $30/t to Manila and $25-30/t to Thailand. Tangshan wire rod offers are at around $700/t cfr Manila, or $670/t fob China, Chinese and Philippine trading sources say. Offers were only at $660-670/t cfr Manila last week. Wire rod from United Arab Emirates was offered on 3 March at $685/t cfr Manila.
Kallanish assessed SAE 1008 6.5mm diameter wire rod at $675-680/t cfr Manila on Thursday, up $22.5 on-week.
A leading blast furnace mill operator in Vietnam is offering SAE 1008 6.5mm and up diameter wire rod at $690/t cfr China. Bids from China are prevailing at $660/t cfr, a Vietnamese trader says. However, some Chinese trading sources say that a price of $660/t cfr is not workable because the Chinese importer needs to pay a 13% import duty.
Source:SteelMint
