JFE Steel to buy high-quality scrap

JFE Steel to buy high-quality scrap

Japanese steel producer JFE Steel plans to buy high-quality scrap as part of its plans to step up production. JFE Steel, which reportedly stopped supplying scrap to its affiliates due to a material shortage, will look to acquire the high-quality scrap from the domestic market. The scrap purchases will allow JFE to increase production without investing in new plants. However, JFE is likely to face stiff competition from another Japanese steel producer, Nippon Steel Corp, which buys an average of 2 million tons of scrap from the domestic market each year. Analysts forecast that JFE's intended scrap purchase will cause scrap availability to tighten, thus driving prices up.