Posted on 01 Apr 2022
The rebar and wire rod import markets in East Asia are generally steady this week, Kallanish notes. Most offer prices are unchanged from last week while regional buying interest is still patchy.
Regional mills and traders offered 6.5mm diameter blast furnace wire rod from Malaysia and Indonesia at $855-865/tonne cfr Manila, unchanged from last week. Manila trading sources report hearing that some deals for Indonesian wire rod were struck at $850/t cfr. “The market is not moving up,” a Manila trader notes. Kallanish assessed SAE 1008 6.5mm diameter wire rod on Thursday at $850/t cfr Manila, up $2.5 on-week.
For regional rebar imports, Vietnamese theoretical-weight rebar is currently offered at $870/t cfr Singapore. A Vietnamese trader thinks the market has softened; the mill had been aiming to push up prices by $10-20/t. "Demand is slow now, especially in China," he says. A 20,000-30,000-tonne parcel from the same Vietnamese mill was heard to have been booked at $840/t cfr during the second week of March.
Trading sources say that rebar demand has slackened following a large order for some 100,000t of Malaysian theoretical-weight rebar booked around the same time at $820/t cfr Singapore (see Kallanish passim). “The market needs time to digest that booking,” a Singapore trader says. Kallanish maintained BS4449 500B 10-40mm diameter rebar at $840/t cfr Singapore theoretical weight.
In Hong Kong, actual-weight Malaysian rebar offers for June shipment have moved up to $860/t cfr this week, up from offers at $850-855/t cfr a week ago. A Hong Kong trader reports that actual-weight May-shipment rebar from the mill previously sold at $840-845/t cfr. There is a lack of buying interest for June shipments, he adds.
Source:Kallanish
