The main EAF-based steel producer in Japan, Tokyo Steel, has continued to cut its local scrap procurement prices amid the ongoing sluggishness of demand in the local market in Asia. Tokyo Steel has reduced its scrap prices for all plants by JPY 500/mt, though the appreciating Japanese yen has caused dollar-based quotations to increase instead. While some South Korean mills are heard to be returning to the Japanese scrap market, SteelOrbis hears that they are only testing the waters right now.
Tokyo Steel’s general range for H2 grade scrap has come to JPY 45,000-46,500/mt ($326-337/mt), depending on the mill. The appreciation of the Japanese currency has resulted in a $4-5/mt increase in the dollar-based prices this time. The previous price revision was announced on November 24, when Japanese yen-US dollar exchange rate was at 141.38.
The shindachi scrap prices of Tokyo Steel are now in the range of JPY 47,000-48,000/mt ($341-348/mt), up $5/mt from the previous levels. All the prices in question are delivered and effective as of November 30. Exchange rate fluctuations are taken into consideration when calculating the dollar-based price changes.
Plant |
H2 |
Shindachi |
||
Price (JPY/mt) |
Price change (JPY /mt) |
Price (JPY/mt) |
Price change (JPY/mt) |
|
Tahara |
46,000 |
-500 |
47,000 |
-500 |
Nagoya |
45,500 |
-500 |
- |
- |
Okayama |
46,000 |
-500 |
48,000 |
-500 |
Kyushu |
46,000 |
-500 |
48,000 |
-500 |
Utsunomiya |
46,500 |
-500 |
48,000 |
-500 |
Takamatsu |
45,000 |
-500 |
47,000 |
-500 |
$1 = JPY 137.94