Over the past week, Taiwanese buyers’ scrap import prices have decreased by $10-15/mt in ex-US scrap bookings, though market sources report that there was no new import deal from Japan in this period.
After decreasing to $460-465/mt CFR in deals late last week, prices for ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in containers have moved down in Taiwan to $450/mt CFR in new deals. “Despite the decreasing price levels, there are not many offers from the US side. But if one is willing to buy, he/she would prefer US origin scrap as it is way more attractive in terms of price than Japanese scrap which is $30/mt higher than ex-US material,” one market player stated.
Once again, Japanese suppliers have failed to sell to Taiwan over the past week. Their offers for H1/2 50:50 scrap in bulk to Taiwan have remained at $480/mt CFR. Import scrap demand in Taiwan is still slow and is expected to remain slow during the summer season. On the other hand, while Taiwanese buyers’ expectations of a further decrease in import scrap quotations is leading them to move more or less sideways, while their high enough scrap inventories in hand are providing support.