During the week ending May 23, steel scrap prices in the Chinese domestic market have indicated a further decline, with the average decrease exceeding RMB 100/mt ($16/mt). Some steel producers in China continue to refrain from making scrap purchases, waiting for further decreases in the prices of the raw material.
At present, the average price of heavy melting scrap (HMS) in the Chinese domestic market stands at RMB 3,180/mt ($503/mt), down $16/mt week on week. Local scrap prices in China can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
The ongoing weakness of the steel market and the sudden decrease in semi-finished product prices are cited as the main reasons for the decreases in local scrap prices, as many traders started to panic and moved to sell off their scrap inventories quickly. As the steel market has not yet indicated any signs of a recovery, scrap prices are expected to maintain their soft trend in the coming week.