While US-based scrap suppliers increased their prices for Taiwan once again over the past week, Japanese suppliers have been struggling to keep their prices on the high side, and so have reduced their offers to the same destination.
Having settled at $450-455/mt CFR late last week, prices for ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in containers have increased in Taiwan to $470/mt CFR via deals. “With prices on the US continent rising locally, this increase is not surprising,” one player stated. The same source pointed out that ex-US offers are still more attractive than offers from Japan but, despite the attractiveness of prices, not many deals have been done from the US during the past week.
Japanese suppliers sold H1/2 50:50 scrap by bulk to Taiwan at $500/mt CFR late last week but, currently, market players state that Japanese offers for H1/2 50:50 scrap in bulk today, July 9, are again at $490-495/mt CFR. One market player stated, “Japanese sellers have been forced to lower their prices as there are not many buyers or countries preferring their material at such high price levels.” SteelOrbis has learned that, with prices falling slightly by $10/mt in the Kanto tender in Japan, Japanese offers for H1/2 50:50 scrap in bulk to Taiwan are expected to decrease further in the coming week.