Spot prices of seaborne rebar in Asia were stable Thursday, with the few available offers in the market unchanged on the day.
With rebar inventories having shown declines, Shanghai rebar futures rallied, and domestic prices in Beijing rose too. Overseas buyers, however, had sufficient inventories and were waiting out for any potential price dip before the Lunar New Year.
S&P Global Platts assessed 16-20mm diameter BS500 rebar at $542/mt FOB China actual weight, unchanged from Wednesday.
In Hong Kong, few fresh offers were heard. A stockist said an eastern China mill offered at $555-560/mt CFR actual weight for 10-40mm rebar to various buyers earlier this week, but few stockists had the interest to book at the moment. He said he preferred to wait till prior the Lunar New Year, when he expects prices to dip.
Another stockist said he would consider buying if prices dropped below $550/mt CFR, equivalent to $537/mt FOB China actual weight.
Meanwhile, two eastern China traders preferred to hold positions after the Lunar New Year, when rebar prices may recover.
In Singapore, one stockist received an indicative offer at $560/mt CFR theoretical weight for 10-32mm rebar and $570/mt CFR for 10-40mm rebar for March shipment. These were at the same level as that of an offer made to another stockist late Wednesday.
