Import scrap offers to Vietnam are still on a declining trend, as demand in Asia is slowing down despite the lower offer prices provided by sellers. With South Korea and Taiwan almost being out of the market, Japanese suppliers are finding it difficult to maintain their price levels for exports. On the other side, buyers’ ideas for US origin scrap are still lower than offers, even though prices from the US are falling at the quickest pace. The Asian scrap market is still under downward pressure and another decline is possible in the coming week, particularly in the Japanese segment.
SteelOrbis has learned that offers from Japan to Vietnam for bulk H2 grade scrap have decreased from the level of $530/mt CFR last week to $510-515/mt CFR. This level is still considered to be high, amid lower offers from the US and buyers’ lower price ideas. Since demand for Japanese scrap is on the low side nowadays, there is still some room for another decline in the coming week.
Meanwhile, offers for ex-US bulk HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in Vietnam are at $500-510/mt CFR, against $530/mt CFR recorded last week. There are even bids for this grade from Vietnam at $480/mt CFR. Meanwhile, containerized HMS I/II 80:20 scrap offers from the US to Vietnam stand in the range of $445-450/mt CFR.