Amid the unchanged fundamentals such as the increasing electricity prices, summer lull and low demand conditions, Taiwan is still showing little interest to scrap imports. According to a Taiwanese contact, “The situation is similar in Asian countries. Japanese steel mills are cutting their capacity utilization rates because of the inflation and lower demand. With the declines observed in Kanto tender and Tokyo Steel’s prices, Japanese scrap is once again competitive.”
As compared to the levels recorded in SteelOrbis’ report published on July 1, price of ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in containers to Taiwan has declined slightly from the range of $365-370/mt CFR to $360-365/mt CFR fixed in deals. “It can be interpreted as a sideways movement for US scrap,” a source from a Taiwanese mill commented.
Meanwhile, offers for Japanese H1/2 50:50 scrap by bulk to Taiwan have indicated a $15-20/mt decline from $390/mt CFR to $370-375/mt CFR. “It would be safe to say that Japanese scrap prices have some room for a further and small decline,” a source reported.
Over the past two weeks, domestic HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices in Taiwan have declined by TWD 600/mt or $20/mt to TWD 10,700/mt ($357/mt) ex-works.
$1 = TWD 29.95