Japanese scrap exporters have decided to withdraw offers on Tuesday, April 7, expecting a rebound in the near future, following the sharp rise seen in Turkey. Scrap collection in Japan has been lower recently, though it has faced less disruptions compared to other exporters like the UK and Europe.
The latest price level for Japanese H2 scrap has been JPY 19,500-20,000/mt ($179-183/mt) FOB and market participants have said that it may be increased by about JPY 1,000/mt ($9.2/mt) this week, but this will depend on the next move by US-based sellers.
Also “The Kanto [export] tender will be held on Thursday, and everyone is waiting for it,” a major trader of ex-Japan scrap said.
Recently, market participants have reported a wider gap between H2 scrap and shindachi (equivalent to US busheling scrap) prices as the production volume of the latter has visibly declined due to the sharp slowdown of the automotive industry. The difference in export prices for those scrap grades has increased from about JPY 2,000/mt ($18/mt) to JPY 3,000/mt ($27.5/mt). At the moment, export prices for Japanese shindachi have been at at least JPY 22,500-23,000/mt ($206-211/mt) FOB, sources have said.
$ = JPY 108.9