Tokyo Steel keeps scrap purchase prices stable, except for Utsunomiya

The main EAF-based steel producer in Japan, Tokyo Steel, has decided to keep its scrap procurement prices stable week on week, except at its Utsunomiya plant, where H2 and shindachi scrap prices have increased by JPY 500/mt. With the ongoing depreciation of the Japanese yen, the sideways movement of local scrap prices has resulted in a decline in dollar-based quotations.

Tokyo Steel’s new price levels for H2 scrap are now in the range of JPY 64,500-66,500/mt, JPY 500/mt higher on the upper end. On dollar basis, the prices in question have declined from $514-526/mt to $510-525/mt week on week. Meanwhile, the shindachi scrap quotation range has remained stable at JPY 67,000-70,500/mt ($529-557/mt), with the dollar prices at $534-561/mt last week. All prices are delivered and effective from April 19. On April 4, the dollar-based quotations of Tokyo for H2 scrap were at $522-530/mt, while for shindachi scrap they were at $543-571/mt.

According to a report in Kyodo News, “The coronavirus lockdown in Shanghai is forcing Japanese retailers to halt operations in the Chinese commercial and financial hub, while Japanese manufacturers have also been affected including through supply-chain disruptions.” This is an additional burden for the Japanese economy when the yen is nearly 10 percent weaker than where it was at the beginning of March.

$1 = JPY 126.6