Import markets for long products have improved in Southeast Asia, Kallanish notes. Firm scrap and China's importing of wire rod has helped bolster markets.

In Singapore, rebar from Qatar was heard booked last Friday at $420/tonne cfr theoretical weight. Qatari rebar is most competitively priced but typically involves orders for 50,000-tonne cargoes. Turkish rebar is currently offered at a minimum of $440/t cfr.

Derivative traders have influenced the Singapore physical market for rebar. “Nowadays, with the derivative traders around, everyone has sufficient inventory. These traders always bring forward the physical deliveries,” a Singapore trader says. As forward prices are typically lower, these traders can offer low prices, he adds.

On Thursday, Kallanish raised its weekly BS4449 500B 10-40mm diameter rebar price to $420-425/t cfr Singapore, up $5 on-week.

In the Philippines, Chinese suppliers hiked export offers for wire rod to $480/t cfr Manila for January shipment. On Tuesday, a trader sold 3,000t of wire-drawing quality wire rod, for January shipment, at $465/t cfr Manila. The origin of the supplying mill is either Beitai, Yingkou or Shagang, at seller’s option.

“Some traders believe the market will go down again very soon,” says a trader of the low price. A Manila trader adds that the concluded price is “…absolutely low."

A Malaysian mill raised its export offers by at least $10/t to $470-480/t cfr Manila week-on-week for January shipment. Some orders concluded at just under $470/t cfr Manila this week. “There are no cheaper offers,” a trader says on why buyers accepted a higher price. The Malaysian mill also sold 10,000t of wire rod, including 5.5mm diameter sizes, at $460-465/t cif Thailand two weeks ago, but there have since been no offers, a Thai trader says.

Kallanish raised its SAE 1008 6.5mm diameter mesh-grade wire rod assessment to $465-470/t cfr SE Asia, up $7.5 on-week.

China’s entry into the import market has propped up the regional billet and wire rod markets, another Manila trader says. Large quantities of Malaysian and South Korean wire rod, for end-November and early-December shipment, were sold at $445/t cfr China some two weeks ago.