Japanese scrap exporters have continued to gain their main support from strong demand locally, while they have insisted on higher prices overseas and have managed to sell some export volumes, supported by higher demand from South Korean customers.
Accordingly, most recently S. Korean mill Hyundai Steel announced a bid for ex-Japan shindachi grade scrap at JPY 61,000/mt ($550/mt) FOB in individual negotiations, up JPY 4,000/mt ($34/mt) compared to the previous level. A new bid for ex-Japan HS scrap is at JPY 59,000/mt ($532/mt) FOB, up by JPY 1,500-3,000/mt ($12-20/mt) within the past week. Meanwhile, bids for shredded scrap have remained unchanged at JPY 55,000/mt ($498/mt) FOB. In total, Hyundai Steel has managed to secure 45,000 mt of these scrap grades after increasing its bids, SteelOrbis has learned.
Bids for HS scrap from China have continued to be voiced at around $30/mt less than the prices targeted by sellers and that could be achieved in S. Korea , at $560-565/mt CFR.
Following the increase in prices a week ago by JPY 1,000-2,000/mt ($5-13/mt), ex-Japan H2 scrap has remained this week at JPY 49,000-51,000/mt ($442-460/mt) FOB. Consequently, Dongkuk Steel, another key South Korean buyer, has recently managed to book around 9,000 mt of ex-Japan H2 scrap at JPY 49,000/mt ($442/mt) FOB, while Hyundai Steel has bidded officially at JPY 48,000/mt ($433/mt) FOB, which has been too low for suppliers.
In Vietnam, the situation has remained less favourable. Vietnamese buyers have been aiming to buy ex-Japan H2 at around $490-495/mt CFR, down from $500/mt CFR last week. But with the current high freight rate, this target price is equivalent to JPY 48,000 ($433/mt) FOB, and Japanese sellers have declined to provide this level.
In the local Japanese scrap market, prices have recently firmed up further. On June 23, Tokyo Steel announced a scrap purchase price increase of JPY 1,000/mt ($9/mt) for three of its five assets, as SteelOrbis reported earlier. Specifically, the price for H2 scrap at Utsunomiya has risen to JPY 49,000/mt ($443/mt) delivered.