One of the main steelmakers in South Korea, Hyundai Steel, has announced its bid prices for Japanese scrap on January 14. Its asking price for H2 scrap was JPY 1,000/mt ($9.6/mt) below last week’s deal price level in S. Korea. The weakening of sentiment in the Asian scrap market has become more visible.
Hyundai Steel announced its H2 scrap bid at JPY 42,000/mt ($403.5/mt) FOB, while last week Dongkuk Steel purchased at least one cargo at JPY 43,000/mt ($413/mt) FOB. The new bid price level from Hyundai for ex-Japan H1/2 scrap is JPY 42,500/mt ($408/mt) FOB.
Demand still exists for higher grades of scrap in S. Korea, but the asking prices are not high. Hyundai Steel has issued bids for HS and shredded scrap at the same level of JPY 46,500/mt ($447/mt) FOB, while for shindachi its bid stands at JPY 47,500/mt ($456/mt) FOB.
Sentiment has weakened in the Asian scrap market even despite the higher price in the Kanto export tender closed at JPY 45,751/mt ($440/mt) FOB for Bangladesh. “Customers in Vietnam are bidding at $460/mt CFR [for H2 scrap compared to $465-475/mt CFR deal price level last week], Korea is weak and the supply volume [from Japan] is not very low,” a trading source commented regarding a possible negative correction in the market soon.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Japan H2 scrap has been lowered to JPY 43,850/mt ($421/mt) FOB on average, down by JPY 1,000/mt ($9.6/mt) from the price level reported on January 13.