Posted on 17 Mar 2023
The ASEAN import market for wire rod and rebar is sluggish amid a high-interest rate environment and uncertainties over a possible spill-over effect of the global banking crisis onto the region, Kallanish notes.
Smaller parcels of China-origin low-carbon 6.5mm diameter non-alloy wire rod from Tangshan are being offered at $630-635/tonne cfr Manila, up $5 from last week. A 1,000-tonne cargo was heard booked at $630/t cfr on Wednesday, a Manila trader reports. Chinese 6.5mm wire rod offers are also heard at around $650/t cfr Manila. A trader received an offer for Chinese wire rod at $630/t cfr Vietnam on Wednesday.
Offers from ASEAN mills are much higher but roughly unchanged from last week. An Indonesian mill is offering at $660/t fob, which would translate to around $675-680/t cfr Manila. “Demand is still not strong and Chinese steel futures price movement is erratic,” a Manila trader says. Chinese futures are affecting steel pricing in the Philippines, he adds. Kallanish assessed SAE 1008 6.5mm diameter wire rod at $640-645/t cfr Manila, up $5 on-week.
Meanwhile, the rebar import markets in Singapore and Hong Kong are quiet. Offers to Singapore for theoretical-weight rebar are similar to last week's levels. Malaysian theoretical-weight rebar is offered at $660/t delivered in Singapore, which is equivalent to around $650/t cfr Singapore. Middle Eastern rebar is heard offered at around $660/t cfr.
Buyers are still bidding lower than sellers are offering, a Singapore trader says. He notes that domestic rebar prices at the equivalent of around $680/t are depressing the market. The sharp hike in interest rates is affecting trade. “The market is more likely to come down instead of going up,” he opines.
Kallanish assessed BS4449 500B 10-40mm diameter rebar at $645-650/t cfr Singapore theoretical weight, up $5 on-week.
An offer for Saudi Arabia-origin actual-weight rebar for April shipment is prevailing from last week at $650/t cfr Hong Kong, importing sources say. “It is very quiet. We all have enough stocks,” a buyer comments.
Source:Kallanish
