Posted on 29 Sep 2022
Taiwan's domestic scrap benchmark setter Feng Hsin announced on 26 September that it will shut its Taichung steel plant for eight days to repair a malfunctioning high-voltage switch at its 161kV electrical substation.
"Our production plans will be adjusted [following the incident] and our production capacity is expected to remain unchanged for this year," a company spokesperson told Argus. "There is no impact on our annual financials and business."
Feng Hsin will also stop receiving deliveries of local scrap for two days from 27 September. Trade sources estimate that around 20,000-40,000t of billet production could be removed during this shutdown. This will further dent scrap demand at a time when demand for finished and semi-finished steel products such as billet and rebar is already weak.
Feng Hsin announced earlier on Monday it will cut rebar sales prices by NT$400/t ($12.61/t) to NT$19,400/t, while keeping domestic scrap collection prices unchanged at NT$11,300-11,400/t.
"Rebar prices at this level are still way too high for downstream buyers," a source from a mill said. "I estimate rebar prices to continue falling to NT18,800/t in early October. And maybe that's when we will start to see more buying interest."
Source:Argus Media
