On Friday, November 13, Tokyo Steel, one of the major EAF-based producers in Japan, announced another increase in its scrap purchase prices - for three out of five of its plants. Prices for H2 have increased by JPY 500/mt ($4.3/mt). Active increases in the export market have boosted local scrap prices in Japan.
As a result, the scrap price for H2 at Okayama has reached JPY 29,500/mt. Prices at Takamatsu have been set at JPY 28,500/mt. The H2 scrap price level has been increased at the Utsunomiya plant to JPY 27,000/mt, reflecting overall stronger prices and demand in the Kanto region. All prices are delivered and effective from November 14.
The ex-Japan H2 reference price has reached JPY 30,000-31,500/mt ($285-300/mt) FOB by the end of the week, up by JPY 1,500-2,000/mt ($14.3-19/mt) compared to last week, according to SteelOrbis’ information, taking into account recent sales to Vietnam, Bangladesh and the new tradable level in other Asian markets like Taiwan and South Korea.