Posted on 04 Mar 2022
The East Asian import market for rebar has seen prices shoot up, Kallanish notes. Suppliers hiked prices in response to surging costs and uncertainties surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war. Regional importers are generally slow to accept the price hikes.
Offers for rebar imports into the region have mostly exceeded $800/tonne cfr. Theoretical-weight rebar from Qatar for June shipment is heard offered at $800-805/t cfr Singapore. “No buyers are interested in this number,” a Singapore trader says. Turkish rebar was heard indicated at $850/t cfr early in the week, but others say no firm offers exist now. Middle Eastern rebar is currently offered at $820/t cfr Singapore, an importer says.
Vietnamese blast furnace billet is offered at $790-795/t fob Vietnam. A 30,000-tonne cargo from the same Vietnamese mill was booked at a base price of $765/t cfr Singapore around ten days ago.
Traders are also currently releasing position cargoes-in-hand at lower prices in Singapore. One such deal was for 10,000t of ASEAN-origin theoretical-weight rebar booked at $750/t cfr. But a Singapore trader believes that $750/t cfr was valid on Monday and such position cargoes would be priced higher now.
Domestic prices in Singapore are not rising as quickly as imports, another trader says. Stockists are trying to raise prices to as high as S$1,200/t ($883/t). As price negotiations for new contracts take time, domestic prices will continue to lag behind, he adds. Rebar orders took place last month at S$1,050-1,060/t. Kallanish raised BS4449 500B 10-40mm diameter rebar to $785-790/t cfr Singapore theoretical weight, up $10 on-week.
In Hong Kong, offers for actual-weight 10-40mm rebar were heard this week at $810-830/t cfr. Prices have been increasing rapidly over the last few days and are still climbing, a Hong Kong trader says.
A March-shipment United Arab Emirates-origin cargo was heard booked at $785-800/t cfr, Hong Kong trading and importing sources say. “It was a position lot,” a buyer says. An April-shipment cargo should be higher-priced, he says. Buying interest for rebar is weak because prices are high and deliveries have slowed down in the pandemic. End-users are not prepared to book at current offer prices as yet, he adds.
Source:Kallanish
