In the past week, overall transaction prices in the Chinese steel scrap market have continued their stable trend, apart from some decreases observed in high scrap prices in Guizhou Province. Traders are relatively optimistic on the prospects for the Chinese scrap market in the coming period.
On March 28, supported by the appreciation of the Chinese currency, average heavy melting scrap (HMS) prices in the main Chinese markets stand at RMB 3,388/mt ($538/mt), up $2/mt week on week. Scrap prices in local markets in China can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
In line with better weather conditions, demand from end-users has improved, thereby boosting market confidence. Since many steel mills have small profit margins, they are not so inclined to increase their scrap purchase prices as they seek to keep down their costs. It is expected that scrap prices in the Chinese market will generally trend sideways in the coming week.