During the week ending January 19, local steel scrap prices in the Chinese market have moved on a stable trend, while transaction activity in the overall market has been at decent levels. Average scrap prices in China’s main markets are presented in the following table.
During the given week, rebounds in finished steel prices in China have slowed down, weakening the support for scrap prices. Meanwhile, iron ore prices have moved on a declining trend, also exerting a negative impact on scrap prices, causing them to move sideways instead of upward. On the other hand, steelmakers’ scrap purchasing activities have been at decent levels.
Currently, finished steel futures prices in China have rebounded, positively affecting sentiment on the future prospects for finished steel prices, which will also provide some support for scrap prices. However, buyers and sellers in the scrap market will be more inclined to keep their prices stable with the approach of the Chinese New Year holiday (February 8-14). It is thought that scrap prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely indicate just slight upticks in the coming week.
| Product Name | Spec. | Origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly Change (RMB/mt) |
| HMS scrap | > 6 mm | Tianjin | 1,070 | 163 | 0 |
| Liupanshui | 1,150 | 175 | 0 | ||
| Zhangjiagang | 1,120 | 170 | 0 | ||
| Handan | 1,080 | 164 | 0 | ||
| Nanchang | 1,120 | 170 | 0 | ||
| Anyang | 1,080 | 164 | 0 | ||
| Jinan | 1,140 | 173 | 0 | ||
| Average | 1,109 | 169 | 0 |
All prices include 17 percent VAT and all prices are ex-warehouse.
$1 = RMB 6.58