[Southern Taiwan steel mills turn to direct negotiations to revive rebar sales]
Rebar producers in southern Taiwan have stopped issuing official price quotes this week, shifting to flexible individual negotiations to attract buyers. Distributors have lowered retail rates in response to the sluggish market. The trading pause threatens to extend market stagnation to a ninth consecutive week without significant deals. Mills face severe order shortages and rising inventory backlogs from delayed shipments, leaving producers open to any offer without a fixed baseline. Despite this, distributor interest remains minimal. After two months of inventory reduction, most smaller traders are depleted, leaving only large-scale distributors still operational.