Overall price trend has remained upward in the Taiwanese import scrap market. Suppliers from the US have managed to continue increasing prices in deals gradually. But at the same time offers from Japan to Taiwan have declined this week after the previous high levels, as suppliers have been trying to accelerate sales.
Ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in containers have been traded at $270/mt CFR late this week, sources have confirmed, increasing slightly from $268/mt CFR contract level on Wednesday this week, and being $5-8/mt above last Friday. Offers have gained further to $273-275/mt CFR Taiwan. “Finished steel demand is quite strong, billet is expensive, so scrap prices are going up,” one of steelmakers from Taiwan said.
Japanese suppliers have been losing sales to Taiwan over the past 1-2 weeks as they have increased prices faster and customers have been choosing to purchase only ex-US raw materials. This week deals for H1/2 50:50 from Japan have been reported in Taiwan at $285-286/mt CFR, while last week offers have been mostly at $290-295/mt CFR. “The gap between US and Japanese scrap has back to normal of $15/mt,” one of the sources said. For now some suppliers from Japan are still targeting $290/mt CFR minimum and some sources reported even higher offers close to $300/mt CFR, supported by demand from other Asian buyers. But to support sales volumes, suppliers will have to be flexible and not to increase prices fast, sources believe.
Outlook for the near future is more or less optimistic in the Taiwanese market. Some sources believe that prices have a room to go up gradually by mid-September. Some market participants expect relatively stable prices, but the further development is also dependent on the trend in Turkey.
