Scrap prices in Taiwan have held steady this week, with imported billets competing with scrap.

Major Taiwanese steel mill Feng Hsin Iron & Steel has suspended its scrap and rebar offers for this week, which are normally released every Monday.

The steelmaker increased its scrap purchasing prices by TWD 200/t ($6.21/t) and lifted rebar sales prices by TWD 300/t last week.

Its HMS 1 scrap purchase price was at TWD 10,900/tonne ($338/t), while the list price for #5 (5/8 inches or 15.875mm nominal diameter base) rebar was at TWD 19,500/t ($606) ex-works.

Scrap trading is experiencing disruptions in Taiwan, with a local scrap market source saying there is a lack of high-quality scrap in the market. Imported billet is competing with scrap steel for buying interest.

Since the end of March, low-priced billets from Russia and China have been successively sold to Taiwan, which has resulted in some scrap demand being replaced.

Containerised US-origin HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap is being offered at $360/t cfr Taiwan this week, almost unchanged from a week before. A small number of deals were booked at $355/t cfr.

Japanese scrap offers also firmed at $370/t cfr as the latest Kanto auction price gained in Japan this week. However, local buyers in Taiwan expect it will be difficult for steel mills to increase prices.

Kallanish assessed HMS 1&2 80:20 container scrap at $355/t cfr Taiwan, remaining unchanged from a week before.