Vietnamese scrap importers are no longer ready to support the import scrap price rises seen since late August, cutting their bids and expecting lower offers from major sellers soon. The slowdown of demand in South Korea due to the recent typhoon and the poor demand in other Asian countries, except some like Bangladesh, have been behind the bearish expectations of Southeast Asian importers.
Japanese H2 offers to Vietnam rose to $420-425/mt CFR towards the middle of the week, then declined to $410-420/mt CFR. Market players report that bids from buyers are at around $400/mt CFR. No new deals have been reported over the past week. Last week, Japanese H2 scrap was bought in the range of $410-412/mt CFR Vietnam. “I feel the bids are even lower than $400/mt CFR,” a source said. Market sources believe that next week suppliers will have to cut offers closer to buyers’ price ideas to stimulate trading.
With the typhoon disaster in South Korea, the Southeast Asia scrap market has lost isupport. As SteelOrbis reported earlier this week, the damage observed at South Korean mills will take time to repair and during this period scrap demand from South Korea is expected to remain on the low side. Already, offers to various countries are being adjusted downwards and a similar development is expected in Vietnam.
A bulk HMS I/II 80:20 scrap cargo from the US West Coast has been offered to Vietnam at $430/mt CFR, slightly below $435-440/mt CFR seen last week. Vietnamese buyers’ bids are also in the range of $400-410/mt CFR for US origin bulk cargoes, SteelOrbis understands. The estimations for next week are lower.