According to sources close to SteelOrbis, scrap export offers from the US West coast to Taiwan for HMS I/II 80:20 have declined to $238-242/mt CFR. This price reflects a decline of $5-6/mt compared to April 20 published prices of $243-248/mt CFR.
At issue is the declining price of Chinese billet that may make it more attractive than US scrap to Taiwanese producers. Ex-Chinese billet offers to Taiwan have been heard most recently at $385-390/mt CFR with soft buyer bids of $370-375/mt CFR.
According to sources, no known bookings for substantial volumes of billet have been reported in Taiwan, but further declines in Chinese billet could result in sales as the “equilibrium point” for billet to replace scrap is approaching. Unlike Taiwan, duties have been imposed on Chinese billet in Vietnam, and therefore US West coast scrap exporters continue with expectations to book scrap with Vietnamese buyers in the near future, especially as Japanese export scrap prices have remained relatively stable with only a slight reduction in price on the higher end of the range but maintaining the lower range over the past week.