Scrap importers from S. Korea and Taiwan have accepted higher prices in deals for ex-US and ex-Japan scrap. The outlook is unclear as from the one side suppliers are still bullish, but from the other – if the downtrend emerges in Turkey it will bring down bids in East Asia.
Over the week, two mills from S. Korea have managed to purchase Japanese scrap at the price equivalent to JPY 27,000-27,500/mt ($255-260/mt) FOB for H2. But overall volumes have been limited, because most of Japanese suppliers have been unwilling to give prices below JPY 28,000/mt FOB. Hyundai Steel has purchased only 20,000 mt in total of all grades out of 100,000 mt in the initial bid. The bid price level for H2 at JPY 27,000/mt FOB “was not good enough for suppliers,” a trader said. S. Korean steelmaker POSCO has purchased 10,000 mt of HS scrap from Japan at JPY 32,500/mt CFR, equivalent to JPY 27,500/mt FOB for H2.
Buyers from Taiwan have focused on ex-US containerised scrap, taking into account that offers from Japan have been increasing too fast. The latest deals for ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 have been at $262-265/mt CFR Taiwan, up by $5-6/mt from last week. A deal at the lower end of the range has been signed in the middle of the week, while by the end of the week the tradable value has been closer to the higher end. At the same time, overall offer volume from the US has been also somewhat limited.
Demand for Japanese scrap has been very slow in Taiwan as it “is too expensive, so it is more reasonable to buy from the US,” a local steelmaker said. Offers for Japanese H1/2 50:50 by bulk have increased by $10/mt over the week to $290-295/mt CFR.
