Tokyo Steel has announced a local scrap purchase price decrease for the second time this month, reflecting the still weak demand for the raw material in Japan. At the same time, after recent increases in the export market, ex-Japan prices have been mostly stable.
On Thursday, April 23, Tokyo Steel said that it will cut local scrap purchase prices by JPY 500/mt ($4.6/mt) for three of its plants. For the Tahara factory, the price for H2 scrap has been lowered to JPY 19,000/mt ($177/mt), while the price for Okayama has been cut to JPY 18,000/mt ($167/mt) and the price for Takamatsu to JPY 17,000/mt ($158/mt), delivered. The price has been left stable for the remaining two plants (Kyushu and Utsunomiya).
“While local Japanese prices are further down, export prices are still holding firm,” one of the customers for Japanese scrap said. Ex-Japan H2 scrap prices have been stable at JPY 21,000-21,500/mt ($195-200/mt) FOB recently. The range does not include prices for South Korea, as bids from customers in this country are still lower than JPY 20,000/mt FOB.
In Vietnam, some more sales have been heard to the south of the country at $235/mt CFR for Japanese H2 scrap. In line with the contract level reported last week, offers have remained at $235-240/mt CFR.
