Japan: Ferrous scrap export prices rebound; trades yet to pick up

• Kanto scrap export tender scheduled on 10th Feb’21
• Buying sentiment in Vietnam cools down ahead of Tet holidays

Japanese scrap export offers have moved up considerably this week after a continuous price drop was observed during the last month. Increasing domestic demand in Japan led to a hike in scrap export prices. Mostly suppliers are waiting for Japan’s monthly Kanto scrap export tender’s outcome, which is scheduled on 10th Feb’21.

SteelMint’s price assessment for Japanese H2 scrap export stands at JPY 37,500/t FoB (356), registering a hike of JPY 1,500/t ($14) w-o-w.

“Japanese scrap offers have gone up. They are currently offering for H2 grade scrap at JPY 38,000-39,000/t FoB” shared a Japanese scrap trader.

South Korean mill books two bulk scrap cargoes- South Korean steel manufacturer- Hyundai Steel has booked two bulk scrap cargoes this week. Interestingly, the company did not make any bid for Japanese scrap this week.

• In a fresh deal, the company has booked around 30,000 t of Russian A3 bulk scrap cargo. The deal concluded at $391/t CFR basis for Mar’21 shipments.
• In another deal, around 45,000 t of US origin HMS 1 and has been booked at around $398/t CFR South Korea basis. Prices have come down by over $40 on m-o-m basis.

Bulk scrap trades sluggish in Vietnam ahead of holidays– Bulk imported scrap trades to Vietnam have slowed down this week, despite a fall in imported scrap prices from Japan. This is largely due to the Tet holidays scheduled in the coming week. Fresh offers for Japanese H2 to Vietnam are being quoted at $385-390/t CFR basis, up by $5 at beginning of this week.

Japan’s Tokyo Steel made one price revision this week-  Tokyo Steel had made a slight price correction for four of its plants (except Utsunomiya) effective from 3rd Feb’21. The company is now paying, JPY 38,000/t ($362) and JPY 37,500/t ($357) for H2 scrap price delivered at Tahara and Okayama works respectively.

The purchase price in Utsunomiya factory in the Kanto region has already bottomed out early in the month, and the company would likely continue to pay a price of JPY 29,000/t DAP Utsunomiya in the coming days.