Posted on 09 May 2025
Market sentiment in ASEAN for imported rebar and wire rod remains soft amid an uncertain trading environment, Kallanish notes. Price volatility continues in tandem with fluctuations on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) and prospective US trade tariffs.
Offers for mesh-grade 6.5mm and up diameter Chinese Q195 grade wire rod for June/July shipment are at around $480/tonne cfr Manila, down from last week’s $490-495/t cfr. “Prices are mixed depending on the risk appetite of traders,” one trader notes. It was unclear if deals were taking place this week.
Kallanish assessed SAE 1008 6.5mm-diameter wire rod at $475/t cfr Manila, down $2.5 on-week.
Offers in Vietnam for 6.5mm Chinese SAE 1008 wire rod for shipment by 15 June are seen at $465/t cfr Vietnam. “This offer price is likely for VAT-evading cargoes,” a Vietnamese mill manager says. Chinese wire rod shipped with VAT payment is offered at around $475-480/t cfr, he adds.
Indonesia’s Dexin Steel's export prices for September shipment are still unchanged at $520/t fob.
Meanwhile, rebar markets in Singapore and Hong Kong are seeing prices slip.
While a leading Malaysian blast furnace mill’s theoretical-weight rebar offer for June/July delivery is unchanged from last week at around $470/t dap (trucked to) Singapore, some say the mill can accept $460/t dap. The dap basis price is estimated to be $5-10/t higher than on a cfr Singapore basis.
Chinese rebar is offered at $470-480/t cfr Singapore. A leading Chinese mill raised its target rebar export prices by $5/t this week but with the most recent losses suffered on the SHFE, longs prices are under pressure, market sources say. “I think prices will drop very soon,” an Indonesian mill source forecasts.
Demand for rebar is rosy in Singapore, with the start imminent of Changi Airport’s new fifth terminal building construction, trading sources say.
Kallanish assessed BS4449 500B 10-40mm diameter rebar at $455-460/t cfr Singapore, down $10 on-week.
In Hong Kong, actual-weight rebar for June/July shipment can be booked at $470/t cfr against offers at $475/t cfr in recent weeks. Other origins are not heard offering in the market. “They cannot compete with Chinese material,” a buyer notes.
Source:Kallanish
