Rebar manufacturers in southern Taiwan stopped issuing official price quotes this week, relying instead on flexible, individual negotiations to attract buyers. Distributors lowered their retail rates in response to the sluggish market. This trading pause threatens to extend the market stagnation to a ninth consecutive week without significant deals.
Steel mills confront a dual burden of severe order shortages and rising inventory backlogs from delayed shipments. Therefore, producers are open to any offer, allowing buyers to initiate terms without a fixed baseline. However, distributors continue to show minimal interest.
Despite slow sales, a two-month inventory reduction left multiple local traders with depleted stocks, leaving only large-scale distributors functional.