Posted on 30 Jul 2021
The import market for wire rod is quiet in Southeast Asia as the region continues to grapple with rising Covid-19 infections. Some suppliers continue to maintain high export offers on the strength of the Chinese domestic market, but others are reducing offers to entice buyers, Kallanish notes.
In Manila, offers for blast furnace 6.5mm diameter wire rod from Indonesia are at as high as $785/tonne cfr, compared to $765-770/t cfr a week ago. Offers for induction furnace wire rod from Vietnam are heard at $770/t cfr, unchanged from the last week. “Buyers are pretty much unconvinced with the higher-priced offers,” a Manila trader says. Another trader observes: “There is no demand.”
Certain regional mills have started to lower offers, however. Offers for induction furnace wire rod from Vietnam are now at $710-720/t fob, Vietnamese traders say. “Ho Chi Minh City could be under lockdown to 15 August,” a trader says. This means that a lockdown could also be enforced in other provinces in southern Vietnam, he adds. Blast furnace wire rod from Vietnam is being offered at $720/t fob Manila depending on shipment quantity, he says.
A certain Vietnamese mill is offering blast furnace wire rod at $710/t fob. “The company hardly ever exports, and since its mill is quite old, the steel quality could be inferior to the newer mills,” a trader notes. Freight between Vietnam and the Philippines costs $35/t for shipments of 10,000 tonnes.
In Thailand, local traders say the market is quiet also due to Covid curbs. There is no interest in Malaysian blast furnace 6.5mm diameter wire rod at $730/t cfr Bangkok, a trader says. The Malaysian mill's offer price is unchanged from last week. He also did not receive interest for 5.5mm diameter wire rod from India at $725/t cfr Thailand. The Indian mill is an induction furnace mill which uses pig iron in its feed.
Kallanish widened its SAE 1008 6.5mm diameter wire rod assessment on Thursday to $740-755/t cfr Manila, down $2.5 on-week.
Source:Kallanish
