During the week ending December 9, local steel scrap prices in the Chinese market have indicated a stable trend, while transaction activity in the domestic scrap market has slackened further and is now at low levels. Average scrap prices in the local Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
During the given week, due to the slight upticks seen in iron ore prices and the sideways movement of semi-finished steel prices, scrap prices in China have halted their downtrend and indicated stable movement instead. Although some big steelmakers have continued to purchase scrap, other medium-sized and small steelmakers have been reluctant to conclude purchases, mainly due to tightness of liquidity. Some scrap traders have said that sluggish demand for scrap has resulted in limited profit margins, and some small traders have even suspended their business activities. It is expected that scrap prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely remain on their stable trend in the coming week.