On Thursday, April 9, the new monthly Kanto Tetsugen scrap export tender in Japan was closed with another price decline compared to the auction held in March. Nevertheless, market sources have reported that such a result had been expected. If we compare the tender results to the lowest export prices from Japan in the latest contracts early this month, some improvement has been seen.
The average price at the recent Kanto Tetsugen tender was JPY 20,656/mt ($189.7/mt) FAS, down JPY 1,999/mt ($18/mt) in one month. The total volume sold in two lots was 20,200 mt. One lot of 15,000 mt was sold at JPY 20,606/mt FAS, while another 5,200 mt of scrap were traded at JPY 20,800/mt FAS.
The average FAS price corresponds to JPY 21,656/mt or $199/mt FOB. This level is more than JPY 2,000 mt ($18/mt) above the export price in the latest deal to South Korea. Moreover, it is approximately $10/mt higher than the transaction to Vietnam last week, sources said. Usually scrap from the Kanto tender goes to Southeast Asian customers.
Most market participants said that it is still too early to talk about an uptrend in the Asian scrap market as demand from South Korea has been very limited over the past week. Many customers are waiting for a clearer trend in the near future.