Posted on 13 Dec 2024
The rise in the Chinese steel futures early this week spurred suppliers to increase offer prices for imported rebar in Singapore and Hong Kong, Kallanish notes.
However, buyers are not convinced about the large uptick in offers as the market is seasonally weak during the year-end.
A leading Malaysian blast furnace mill has raised its offer for theoretical-weight rebar for January/February shipment to $500-505/tonne trucked to Singapore, compared to $490/t dap last week. The dap Singapore basis price is estimated to be $5-10/t higher than on a cfr Singapore basis.
“Everybody will wait because they know that prices will likely go down in the next one to two weeks,” a Singapore trader says.
Demand is slow in Singapore and business confidence in China is poor, he adds. He blames speculators for drumming up the futures market in China.
Offers for Chinese-origin theoretical-weight rebar for February shipment are prevailing at around $520/t cfr Singapore, up $20/t from last week.
Kallanish assessed BS4449 500B 10-40mm diameter rebar at $485/t cfr Singapore theoretical weight, $2.5/t higher from last week.
In Hong Kong, offers for actual-weight open-origin rebar are at $510-515/t cfr, up $10 from last week.
Prices are rising in the short-term but there is no buying interest, local importing sources say. The increase is due to the positive news to boost consumption and domestic demand from China's Politburo meeting on Monday, a buyer notes.
Source:Kallanish
