The active increase in offers and the overall positive mood in the market have led to higher deal prices for imported scrap in South Korea this week. Though major customers have remained cautious, small-volume deals for Japanese and Russian material have been reported recently.
One of the leading South Korean mills has purchased - 4,000 mt in total - shredded scrap from Japan at JPY 28,500/mt CFR and HS at JPY 29,000/mt CFR. This means that bids have added JPY 1,000/mt ($9.3/mt) from last week. Though there have been no reports of contracts for Japanese H2 scrap, after this sale the workable price level for H2 has increased by JPY 1,000/mt compared to the previous deals last week to JPY 24,000/mt ($224/mt) FOB.
Japanese sellers have been focused mainly on sales to Vietnam and Taiwan, where deals have been reported at JPY 24,500/mt ($229/mt) FOB. Offers for H2 have increased to JPY 25,000/mt ($233/mt) FOB and above, sources told SteelOrbis on Thursday, July 23.
About 10,000 mt of Russian A3 scrap have been traded at $254/mt CFR to another major importer. This contract has been signed after some pause in purchases of Russian material.
