Trading in the Asian scrap market has been somewhat weak, with the Vietnamese steel sector performing slowly. While deep sea scrap purchasing activity in Asia is weakening, short sea scrap deals from Japan have continued to be seen. Ex-Japan scrap prices are stable week on week, though future expectations are a little negative. The Japanese scrap market is also silent but, “Scrap generation from Japanese car manufacturers is better. Some producers have declined to accept truck cargoes, so inflow to ports has also increased,” one source stated. South Korean producers’ demand for Japanese scrap is lower than usual, while Bangladesh and India have become Vietnam’s and Taiwan’s competitors for scrap. However, SteelOrbis has heard that Bangladesh has almost halted scrap purchases amid issues surrounding letters of credit and offers shared with eastern India have been met with silence.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese mills have booked ex-Japan H2 scrap at $387/mt CFR, stable week on week. While this level is higher than the bids from Vietnamese mills for ex-Japan H2 scrap at $380-385/mt CFR at the end of last week, currently Japanese H2 offers to the country are at $385/mt CFR, with bids standing at $380/mt CFR.
Earlier this week, SteelOrbis learned that Japanese HMS I/II 50:50 and shindachi scrap were offered to Vietnam at $390/mt CFR and $425/mt CFR, respectively.
It is also heard that South Korean steel producer POSCO shared bids for Japanese shredded scrap at JPY 57,000/mt ($382/mt) CFR, which equals JPY 54,000/mt ($362/mt) FOB. POSCO’s shredded scrap bids have remained stable since SteelOrbis’ report on September 15.
SteelOrbis’ reference price for ex-Japan H2 scrap has declined slightly by JPY 300/mt on the lower end to JPY 50,700-52,000/mt ($340-349/mt) FOB. The lower end is represented by the Taiwanese mills’ H2 scrap purchases this week, while the upper end is represented by the deals done by Vietnamese buyers.
$1 = JPY 149.17