Hyundai Steel, the main scrap importer in South Korea, has decided to buy a large volume of Russian A3 scrap, viewing it as more reasonable due to still high prices from Japan and the US.
About 80,000 mt of Russian A3 scrap have been sold at $303/mt CFR S. Korea, similar to the deal price level reported by SteelOrbis on September 7. The volume was much bigger than in the previous rounds of purchases. Suppliers from the US are still asking above $315/mt CFR for H1 scrap, as they are able to sell at higher prices at other destinations like Vietnam and Bangladesh.
“There are no bookings for Japanese H2 in Korea,” a source said. Last week, Hyundai Steel bidded at JPY 28,000/mt FOB for H2 scrap, but this week official offers are still at JPY 30,000/mt FOB. Suppliers can negotiate sales at as low as JPY 28,00-29,000/mt ($273-278/mt) FOB for H2, which is still not good enough for S. Korean buyers.