Vietnam’s import scrap market has started to move up amid renewed interest from domestic steel mills, though market sources report that the mills remain cautious and are still sharing lower bids with the suppliers. Japan’s offers are expected to remain firm in the coming week, though sources are not sure if Japan will manage to close deals with Vietnamese buyers. “The gap between offers and bids still exists. The fluctuation of the Japanese yen-US dollar exchange rate is not helping,” a source reported.
Over the past week, offers for Japanese H2 scrap to Vietnam have moved up slightly on the upper end to $325-330/mt CFR. Bids from Vietnamese buyers are approximately $5-10/mt lower than offers.
Over the past week, ex-US bulk HMS I/II 80:20 scrap offers to Vietnam moved up by $5-10/mt early this week and later by another $5-10/mt, now standing at $345-350/mt CFR.