Major Chinese steelmaker Shagang Group has raised its scrap purchase prices continuously in May amid the surging trends of ferrous metal futures prices and iron ore prices, which have bolstered scrap prices.
Average domestic HMS scrap prices in China are at RMB 3,899/mt ($607/mt) ex-warehouse, increasing by RMB 426/mt compared to April 28, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
Average scrap prices in China’s main markets are presented in the following table.
|
Product name |
Specification |
Origin |
Price |
Price |
Weekly change |
Weekly change |
|
HMS |
> 6 mm |
Tianjin |
4,110 |
639.7 |
430 |
72.8 |
|
Liupanshui,Guizhou |
3,760 |
585.2 |
370 |
63.0 |
||
|
Nanchang,Jiangxi |
3,840 |
597.7 |
430 |
72.4 |
||
|
Handan,Hebei |
3,915 |
609.3 |
325 |
56.4 |
||
|
Anyang,Henan |
4,045 |
629.6 |
545 |
90.4 |
||
|
Zhangjiagang,Jiangsu |
3,945 |
614.0 |
465 |
78.0 |
||
|
Jinan,Shandong |
3,680 |
572.8 |
415 |
69.8 |
||
|
Average |
3,899 |
606.9 |
426 |
71.8 |
Most recently, Jiangsu-based Shagang Group raised its scrap purchase prices by RMB 200/mt ($31.1/mt) as of May 11, reflecting the bullish market conditions.
Taking into account the bullish local market, import offers have also increased. Japanese sellers were offering HS scrap at $540/mt CFR and above early this week. But after the closure of the Kanto tender at an even higher-than-expected level, asking prices will be as high as $550/mt CFR, sources believe. The latest tradable value has been reported at $530-540/mt CFR, according to market sources, compared to $515-520/mt CFR on average earlier this week, while in the period before the Labor Day holiday the price was at $500/mt CFR.
$1 = RMB 6.4258