South Korean steel producer POSCO has kept its bids for Japanese shredded scrap stable for the third time since they were announced on June 28. The downtrend in the local South Korean scrap market continues unabated this week, with Hyundai Steel, POSCO Steel and Dongkuk Steel announcing scrap price cuts for the domestic market in succession. The negative sentiment in the international scrap market and the overall lack of steel demand worldwide is taking its toll on the Japanese scrap and South Korean steel markets.
Meanwhile, SteelOrbis has learned that POSCO has shared bids for shredded scrap at JPY 55,500/mt ($397/mt) CFR or JPY 52,500/mt ($376/mt) FOB. Although prices on Japanese yen basis have remained stable week on week, due to the appreciation of the yen dollar-based quotations have increased by $4/mt both on CFR and FOB basis as compared to the levels recorded on July 10. On July 13, Hyundai Steel’s bids for shredded scrap were at JPY 51,500/mt ($370/mt with the exchange rate at 139.06 to the dollar) FOB.
$1 = JPY 139.70