Japanese scrap suppliers have faced a slowdown of demand as customers from South Korea have almost fully stopped negotiations and demand has mostly been seen from Taiwan. Market sources believe that prices will stabilize in the near future after recent increases.
The ex-Japan H2 scrap price range has been at JPY 21,000-21,500/mt ($195-200/mt) FOB, up by JPY 500/mt ($4.6/mt) on average from last week. It reflects the tradable value for Japanese scrap in Southeast Asia and East Asia. At the same time, Japanese suppliers have mostly not been offering at a lower level to South Korea, as previously, seeing very low demand. Official offers from Japanese suppliers have been heard at JPY 22,000/mt ($204/mt) FOB and even higher.
The latest deal price for Taiwanese customers has been at $230/mt CFR for H1/H2 50:50 versus previous transactions at $225-230/mt CFR Taiwan. This level is equivalent to JPY 21,500/mt ($200/mt) FOB for H2, sources have said. Taiwanese importers have shown some slowdown purchases, having sufficient inventories for May. Moreover, delays of ex-US scrap supply have mainly been very short.
