As the market remains volatile due to the uncertain short-term outlook, Chinese steelmakers have preferred to remain cautious in new scrap bookings. The chaos surrounding Covid-19 restrictions has continued to weigh negatively on sentiments in the Chinese steel and raw material markets in general. In the meantime, local Chinese scrap suppliers in some regions have decided to cut their offers to attract buyers.
Average domestic HMS scrap prices in China are at RMB 2,552/mt ex-warehouse, moving down by RMB 19/mt compared to November 16, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
Average scrap prices in China’s main markets are presented in the following table.
|
Product name |
Specification |
Origin |
Price |
Price |
Weekly change |
Weekly change |
|
HMS |
> 6 mm |
Tianjin |
2,605 |
363.5 |
-55 |
-14.3 |
|
Liupanshui,Guizhou |
2,520 |
351.6 |
-75 |
-16.9 |
||
|
Nanchang,Jiangxi |
2,565 |
357.9 |
55 |
1.5 |
||
|
Handan,Hebei |
2,575 |
359.3 |
-65 |
-15.6 |
||
|
Anyang,Henan |
2,585 |
360.7 |
45 |
0.0 |
||
|
Zhangjiagang,Jiangsu |
2,565 |
357.9 |
-20 |
-9.2 |
||
|
Jinan,Shandong |
2,450 |
341.8 |
-20 |
-8.9 |
||
|
Average |
2,552 |
356.1 |
-19 |
-9.1 |
||
|
Note: Prices include 3 percent VAT as of March 1 2022. |
||||||
Given the situation in the local scrap market, bids for import HS scrap in China have declined by $10-15/mt over the past week to $330-350/mt CFR. Consequently, the gap between prices workable for sellers and buyers has continued to constrain import activity. Although Japanese scrap suppliers have been forced to reduce their price targets compared to the previous levels due to the unfavorable situation in its major export destinations and its domestic market, they would be unlikely to accept levels below $370-385/mt CFR China for now.
$1 = RMB 7.1281