The positive impact of the Kanto tender in Japan has been short-lived as Vietnamese mills’ price ideas for Japanese scrap have declined over the past week. A Vietnamese source reported that not much has changed in the steel market, adding, “We consider the current situation to be one of relative stability.” The lack of scrap demand in the country is exerting pressure on prices in the absence of South Korea.
This week, bids from Vietnam for containerized HMS I/II 80:20 scrap are at $380/mt CFR Vietnam. This price level is similar to Vietnamese mills’ price ideas for ex-Hong Kong HMS 50:50 scrap in the range of $380-385/mt CFR.
Meanwhile, bids from Vietnamese mills for ex-Japan H2 scrap are at $380-385/mt CFR, down from the offer levels at $390/mt CFR recorded last week. This level is merely $2.5/mt lower than a deal closed for Japanese H2 scrap at $385/mt CFR last week. Also, SteelOrbis has learned that Vietnamese mills’ bids for Japanese shredded and HS scrap have been at $410-415/mt CFR. Accordingly, Japanese HS scrap prices have decreased by $3/mt from the deal closed at $418/mt CFR last week.
SteelOrbis’ reference price for ex-Japan H2 scrap remains at JPY 51,000-52,000/mt ($344-351/mt) FOB. The lower end is represented by the current Kanto region FAS prices, while the upper end is represented by the deals done by Vietnamese buyers.
$1 = JPY 148.26