Posted on 25 Jun 2021
Import markets for wire rod weakened in Southeast Asia this week, Kallanish notes. Continued lockdowns in certain regional countries to curtail Covid-19 outbreaks, as well as the seasonal slowdown for construction steel activities in the region, have forced suppliers to lower steel prices.
Vietnamese mills have cut offer prices this week. Blast furnace SAE 1006 6.5mm diameter wire rod is offered at $715/tonne fob and induction furnace SAE 1018 wire rod at $710/t fob, Vietnamese trading sources say. Last week, most offers for Vietnamese blast furnace wire rod were heard at $760/t fob and induction furnace material at $740/t fob. The market for rebar and wire rod is weak, a Vietnamese trader said on Thursday.
Regional mills in Malaysia and Vietnam are offering blast furnace 6.5mm wire rod this week at $745/t cfr Thailand. Some traders are even offering 5.5mm for July/August shipment at this price level, a Thai trader says. “I am afraid that prices will drop further,” another says. Last week, 5.5mm diameter induction furnace Indian wire rod closed at $740-745/t cfr Bangkok.
In the Philippines, Indonesian blast furnace wire rod is offered at lows of $755/t cfr Manila, local traders report. Some small orders for Chinese-origin wire rod for fine-drawing closed at $875-880/t cfr Manila earlier this week.
A trader estimates the total quantity booked would not exceed 1,500 tonnes. “Customers who book this wire rod for this application do not have many options,” he notes. The booking is for SAE 1006 low-carbon wire rod with maximum 0.12% Si content. Some bookings are still continuing for long and flat products but Philippine customers are generally cautious and buying at the very last minute for their requirements, he notes.
Kallanish lowered its SAE 1008 6.5mm diameter wire rod assessment to $745-750/t cfr Manila on Thursday, down $25 on-week.
Source:Kallanish
