Japanese exporters have been insisting on higher prices for scrap early this week, following gains in the local market and expecting demand in Asia to improve in the near future.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Japan H2 scrap has increased to JPY 44,000-44,500/mt ($402-407/mt) FOB, where the lower end of the range has gone up by JPY 1,500/mt ($14/mt) since last week. The increase has been attributed to the rise in the latest deal to S. Korea and overall higher bids. Moreover, most offers have been at JPY 45,000/mt ($411/mt) FOB from major suppliers and they believe this level could be reached in deals to Southeast Asia this week, SteelOrbis has learned.
One of S. Korean steel producers has purchased 10,000 mt of ex-Japan H2 scrap at about JPY 43,500-44,000/mt ($397-402/mt) FOB, up by almost JPY 1,500/mt ($14/mt) compared to the previous deal, reported last week. Sources said that higher local prices for scrap in S. Korea have been pushing bids for import material higher.
An increase is awaited in the Vietnamese scrap market too. The latest offers from Japan for H2 have been reported at $460-470/mt CFR versus deals at $450-455/mt CFR last week.