Posted on 10 Dec 2021
Southeast Asian import markets for wire rod and rebar are quiet, Kallanish notes. Suppliers are nevertheless keeping offers firm despite the lack of regional buying interest.
Offers for 6.5mm diameter blast furnace low-carbon wire rod from Malaysia are unchanged from last week at $730/tonne cfr Manila. The lowest offer for an Indonesian mill's blast furnace wire rod was at $718/t cfr Manila last week but has now been hiked to $730/t cfr Manila. Offers from China are pegged at around $850/t cfr Manila.
“The wire rod market is mostly quiet here; offers have barely moved,” a Manila trader says. Since the Chinese market has been moving up in recent days, regional sellers will want to follow suit, another says. But as Chinese steel futures remains volatile, falling on 9 December, “it's not easy dealing steel like in the stock market”, he adds. Kallanish assessed SAE 1008 6.5mm diameter wire rod on Thursday at $720-725/t cfr Manila, up $10 on-week.
In Thailand, offers for similar-grade and size wire rod from the same Indonesian mill are at $720/t cfr and for Vietnamese blast furnace wire rod at $730/t cfr. A Thai trader says he had no buying inquiries this week. He attributes the poor demand to flooding in southern Thailand as well as delays in payments in many government construction projects in the country.
For rebar in Singapore, Vietnamese-origin theoretical-weight rebar for January/February shipment is offered at $710-725/t cfr. A buyer thinks some bookings were concluded at $710-715/t cfr. Demand is steady, he says. A trader heard a rebar booking at $710/t cfr Singapore earlier this week. Rebar prices are soft because of the weak market in Turkey, he says.
Actual-weight rebar from Qatar for February shipment is offered this week at $720/t cfr Hong Kong. An importer says he has not heard of any new deals transpiring. “It is quiet,” he notes.
Kallanish assessed BS4449 500B 10-40mm diameter rebar at $710t cfr Singapore theoretical weight, unchanged on-week.
Source:Kallanish
