Tokyo Steel, the main EAF-based steel producer in Japan, has announced a further sharp hike in its scrap purchase prices, by $9-18/mt for all plants, signaling a continuous strong appetite for the raw material in the local market.
Tokyo Steel made the previous hike in its scrap prices only on Friday, October 1. But this was not enough to attract the needed volumes. So this time, Tokyo Steel has raised prices for H2 and shindachi scrap by JPY 2,000/mt ($18/mt) at Utsunomiya, and by JPY 1,000/mt ($9/mt) for its four other assets.
As a result, Tokyo Steel’s purchase prices for H2 have been settled at JPY 51,000-53,000/mt ($459-477/mt), according to the official information.
Shinadachi scrap prices have also consolidated at higher levels, at JPY 53,000-59,000/mt ($459-531/mt), with the high end of the range valid for the Tahara mill and the low end for the Utsunomiya mill.
All prices are delivered and effective from October 6 ($1= JPY 111.02).
Following the recent increase in local prices in Japan, the bullishness in the export scrap market has continued to increase. Late last week, the reference price for ex-Japan H2 scrap prices was settled at JPY 50,000-53,000/mt ($450-477/mt) FOB. But it seems after the latest increase locally Japanese exporters will avoid selling scrap at the lower end of the mentioned range and will maintain their focus on the local market, if demand from overseas remains limited at higher levels.
Plant |
H2 |
Shindachi |
||
Price (JPY/mt) |
Price change (JPY /mt) |
Price (JPY/mt) |
Price change (JPY/mt) |
|
Tahara |
53,000 |
1,000 |
59,000 |
1,000 |
Okayama |
53,000 |
1,000 |
56,500 |
1,000 |
Kyushu |
53,000 |
1,000 |
55,000 |
1,000 |
Utsunomiya |
51,000 |
2,000 |
53,000 |
2,000 |
Takamatsu |
51,000 |
1,000 |
53,500 |
1,000 |