SteelOrbis has learned that South Korean steelmaker POSCO has reduced its bid prices for Japanese scrap. This move has come after Hyundai’s decision to cut its prices for Japanese scrap last week on August 5. Nevertheless, the new prices announced by POSCO are not below last week’s transactions level in South Korea, meaning that demand persists.
POSCO has bid for shredded scrap at JPY 60,000/mt ($543/mt) CFR and for HS grade at JPY 63,000/mt ($571/mt) CFR this week, JPY 3,000/mt ($27/mt) and JPY 2,500/mt ($23/mt) lower than the mill’s previous levels announced in July. As a result of this move, POSCO has decreased its bids closer to the levels voiced by Hyundai, which were at JPY 55,500/mt ($507/mt) FOB for shredded and JPY 58,500/mt ($534/mt) FOB for HS last week (with exchange rate at $1 = JPY 109.54). The freight rate is currently about JPY 4,000-4,500/mt ($36-41/mt) from Japan to South Korea.
Despite the reduction made by POSCO, market players state that the new bids for Japanese scrap are still higher than domestic scrap prices in Korea, but demand for higher grades continues to be observed amid certain shortages in supply.
$1 = JPY 110.39