In the past week, the Chinese scrap market has trended downward but at a slower rate than in the previous week. While some mills are limiting their scrap purchases to small volumes, many traders are more optimistic on the prospects for sales of their inventories in the coming period.
As of May 30, the average price of heavy melting scrap (HMS) in the main markets in China stands at RMB 3,145/mt ($498/mt), down $6/mt week on week. Local scrap prices in China can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
Domestic finished steel prices in China have lately been declining at a slower rate, while some upticks have been observed in semi-finished steel prices, thereby providing increasing support for prices in the Chinese scrap market. In this context, it is thought that the Chinese scrap market may follow a sideways trend in the coming week.