The Chinese wire rod export market remains quiet this week, as rumours of an investigation into exports that evade VAT left players cautious. VAT evasion has boosted the competitiveness of Chinese steel exports of all types for the last couple of years, but a crackdown remains uncertain.

Traders are holding their offers for both alloy-added and non-alloy wire rod until the market returns from the Labor Day holiday in the first week of May. They believe the market trend will be more clear then.

However, most Chinese traders are not expecting the investigation to halt the non-VAT exports. “This always happens every year, but no big impact,” one trader said. Some observers note that China may not be willing to disrupt a strong export market until broader economic confidence recovers.

Kallanish assesses 6.5mm diameter mesh-grade wire rod at $520-525/tonne fob China, unchanged from a week earlier.