During the week ending December 16, local steel scrap prices in the Chinese market have softened in some regions of China, with prices moving sideways in other regions, while transaction activity in the domestic scrap market has remained sluggish. Average scrap prices in the local Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
Semi-finished steel prices in the Chinese domestic market have decreased by larger margins in the past week, exerting a negative impact on the local scrap market. On the other hand, imported iron ore prices have slowed down their declining movement and international scrap prices have indicated greater stability, with these developments providing a certain degree of support for domestic scrap prices in China. However, most scrap traders in the Chinese domestic market hold a pessimistic view of the future prospects for the market in the period up to the end of the year. Some traders in northern China have even suspended their trading activities. It is expected that scrap prices in the Chinese domestic market will move on a slight downtrend in the coming week.