Japanese scrap exporters have been forced to cut prices further to stimulate demand. As a result, prices from Japan to South Korea have fallen to their lowest level for more than three years.
This week, the largest scrap importer in South Korea Hyundai Steel has announced it new bid at JPY 21,000/mt ($189.5/mt) FOB, which is JPY 1,000/mt ($9/mt) below its previous bid and JPY 500/mt ($4.5/mt) down from the previous contract level of another South Korean mill late last week. In total, about 30,000 mt of Japanese H2 scrap have been sold at this price level to Hyundai Steel, sources have said, mostly by “exporters, who were in a rush to sell,” a trader commented. Bid prices for H1 have been heard at JPY 22,000/mt FOB, while bid prices have been heard for shredded scrap, HS and shindachi at JPY 23,500/mt FOB.
As a result, ex-Japan export prices level for H2 scrap have slipped to JPY 21,000-21,500/mt ($189.5-198.5/mt) FOB.
$1 = JPY 110.816