Even though international scrap market is moving up led by the trend in Turkey, the Vietnamese scrap market has showed some resistance to the rising trend and buyers there have lowered their bids for import scrap. The Vietnamese steel market is “still quite slow. That is why most Vietnamese mills are not following up offers with higher price levels yet.” According to a source, a recovery in steel demand is possible because China is also rebounding and may have a positive impact, lifting the Vietnamese market also. A Japanese source also commented that rebar demand in Taiwan, South Korea and Vietnam is not so good. “Actually, Hyundai Steel’s bid yesterday was very low for Japanese scrap, so some buyers think that they can get cheaper offers from Japan,” a Vietnamese source commented. This is slowing Vietnamese buyers’ reaction to the rise in Turkey’s import scrap market. However, some Vietnamese buyers are reported to be back in the market to try and buy some cargoes from Hong Kong and Japan before prices catch up with those in Turkey.
Offers to Vietnam for Japanese bulk H2 scrap prices are currently in the range of $440-445/mt CFR, down from $445-460/mt recorded last week. Vietnamese players report that workable levels for this grade is at around $435/mt CFR. Freight from Japan to Vietnam is at around $30-34/mt nowadays, hence this workable price equals $401-405/mt FOB Japan ports or JPY 54,110-54,650/mt FOB, lower than the JPY 55,489-56,959/mt recorded last week. Meanwhile, Hyundai Steel’s bid for Japanese H2 grade scrap yesterday was at JPY 51,000/mt ($378/mt) FOB.
As of today, February 23, Tokyo Bay FAS based prices for H2 grade scrap are at JPY 52,500-53,000/mt ($389-393/mt), slightly lower than the levels recorded last week at JPY 53,000-53,500/mt (396-400/mt). This new level is signals JPY 53,500-54,000/mt ($396-400/mt) FOB for this grade.
As a result, the SteelOrbis reference prices for ex-Japan H2 scrap have changed from JPY 53,000-54,000/mt ($396-403/mt) FOB to JPY 51,000-54,000/mt ($378-403/mt) FOB week on week. Currently, the lower end is represented by Hyundai Steel’s bid for Japanese scrap, while the upper end is represented by Vietnamese buyers’ bids that have been standing firm for two weeks.
Tokyo Bay FAS prices for HS grade scrap are now in the range of JPY 54,500-56,000/mt ($404-415/mt) as compared to JPY 55,000-56,000/mt ($411-418/mt) recorded last week. Meanwhile, for shindachi scrap the price still stands at JPY 54,000-55,000/mt ($400-408/mt), though due to the fluctuating exchange rate dollar-based prices have declined by $3/mt week on week.
Workable levels for Japanese HS scrap and shindachi scrap for Vietnam are currently at $465-470/mt CFR. Last week, Japanese shindachi and HS grade scraps were offered at $475/mt CFR and $480-485/mt CFR, respectively.
A Vietnamese buyer has targeted $440/mt CFR for ex-US bulk HMS I/II 80:20 scrap this week, $10-20/mt lower than last week’s ex-US offers at around $450-460/mt CFR, but $10/mt higher than another buyer’s bid for this grade last week. It seems Vietnamese buyers and US sellers are trying to find common ground, but a Vietnamese source admitted that the bid at $440/mt CFR was not found attractive by sellers given the quite strong trend observed both in Bangladesh and Turkey.
Ex-Hong Kong HMS 50:50 scrap cargo was sold to Vietnam this week at $435/mt CFR. This level was the lower end of last week’s offers at $435-445/mt CFR.
$1 = JPY 134.98