China's Wire Rod Export Prices Rise, Quotations in Southeast Asia Remain Stable

Major Chinese steel mills raised export prices this week, anticipating better local demand in autumn. Southeast Asian sellers have delayed offers as actual demand remains weak.
According to reports, this week Indonesian and Malaysian converter producers quoted Asian and European low-carbon wire rods (SAE 1008, 6.5mm) at US$525/ton FOB, basically unchanged from the end of July. Traders are quoting Chinese Q235 resources at $532-535/t cfr Philippines, slightly down from $535/t cfr two weeks ago. In Myanmar, some offers from traders for Chinese products were at $560/t cfr.
Most buyers are wary of signing contracts as demand in Asia and Europe remains weak and forecasts for China's economic recovery are uncertain. “Real demand in the local market is weak and importers are starting to buy cargoes that arrive in the fourth quarter, but they are cautious about taking any action,” a source in Thailand commented.
Over the past two weeks, major Chinese mills have raised low carbon wire rod prices by US$5-20/t (depending on suppliers) to US$565-580/t fob. Prices for high carbon wire rod (82b, 6.5mm) have risen by $15/t to $580/t fob since the end of July. Producers expect construction activity to improve in September due to seasonal factors and the need to rebuild facilities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region after the typhoon. "The market is watching and slowly anticipating autumn demand," a trade source told Metal Expert. However, a representative of a Chinese steel mill pointed out: “There are not many orders this week due to the drop in steel futures”.