Major Japanese steel producer Tokyo Steel has continued to increase its scrap purchase prices every two to three days, hiking its prices by JPY 2,000/mt ($19/mt) this time. Short supply and bullish sentiment are expected to keep pushing up local and export scrap prices in Japan.
Tokyo Steel increased its local scrap purchase prices on Monday, December 21, just after the previous revision on Friday. The H2 price level for Tahara Works has reached JPY 42,000/mt ($406/mt), while for Okayama it has been increased to JPY 41,500/mt ($402/mt). Prices for Kyushu and Utsunomiya have been settled at the similar level of JPY 39,000/mt ($377/mt). The price level for Takamatsu has hit JPY 37,000/mt. All prices are delivered and effective from December 22.
The latest local price hike in Japan means that the rising pace has been gathering momentum, as last week Tokyo Steel had raised prices at all its assets by JPY 2,500-5,000/mt ($24-48/mt), depending on the plant.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Japan H2 scrap surged to JPY 42,000-43,300/mt ($407-419.5/mt) FOB last week and it is expected to move to JPY 43,500-44,000/mt ($421-426/mt) FOB in the very near future, sources said.