Japanese scrap suppliers continued to raise offers this week for key destinations like Vietnam, Bangladesh, South Korea etc. However, bids have come down, tracking the decline in Chinese steel futures. SteelMint’s assessment for Japanese H2 scrap exports stands at JPY 51,000/tonne (t) FoB, up JPY 3,000/t ($27/t) w-o-w.
Hyundai Steel lowers bid for Japanese scrap by JPY 1,000/t ($9/t)
South Korean steel major Hyundai Steel has lowered bids for Japanese scrap by JPY 1,000/t ($9/t) for all grades, SteelMint confirmed from sources. Bids for H2 are now at JPY 49,000/t ($449/t) FoB, down against the last bid presented on 18 May’21. The demand for imported scrap is likely to increase further. The company expects to restart operations at two of its hot rolling mills and the rebar plant heating furnace at its Diangjin steelworks after Jun’21. Operations at Hyundai Steel’s Diangjin works remained suspended after an accident, as SteelMint had reported earlier.
Last week, Hyundai Steel and Dongkuk Steel had booked around 70,000-80,000 t of bulk H2 grade scrap at JPY 50,000/t FoB basis. Strong global scrap prices and increased bids in the Japanese monthly scrap export tender have lifted Japanese scrap prices.
Chinese mills bid low for Japanese scrap as prices enter bearish phase
Imported scrap prices to China for the most preferred Japanese HRS 101 grade (Chinese version for HS grade) have declined by $15/t w-o-w. Bids for HRS 101 are at $520/t, CFR China, but no recent deals were heard by SteelMint. Subdued buying interest has contributed to lowered bids for imported scrap, which are expected to fall further in the near term.
Japanese scrap offers rise for Bangladesh and Vietnam
Imported scrap offers to Bangladesh and Vietnam remained stable at the beginning of the week. Japanese H2 offers are being quoted at $520-530/t CFR Vietnam (up by $45/t w-o-w) whereas the same for Bangladesh is being cited at $555-560/t CFR Chittagong levels (up by $52/t w-o-w), leading to limited trades at a higher price.
Kansai monthly scrap export tender bids rise by over $55/t
Japan’s Kansai-Cheorwon scrap export tender for May’21, was concluded on 21 May’21. The winning bid was awarded a total of 8,000 t of Japanese H2 at an average price of JPY 49,148/t ($450/t) FAS, up by JPY 6188/t ($57) as compared to the previous Kansai tender of JPY 42,960/t ($394/t) FAS in Apr’21, as per Steeldaily. The tender price has increased by JPY 315/t ($3/t) as compared to the Kanto tender, concluded last week.
Tokyo Steel lifts domestic scrap purchase price by up to JPY 1,500/t ($14/t)
Japan’s leading EAF mill, Tokyo Steel, has hiked its scrap purchase price by up to JPY 1,500/t ($14/t) for all five works w.e.f 19 May’21. For H2 grade scrap, the company is now paying around JPY 51,500/t ($473/t) for the Tahara plant and JPY 48,000/t ($440/t) for its Utsunomiya works. Strong global scrap prices and increased bids for Japanese scrap have lifted domestic scrap prices.
Outlook
Although scrap suppliers have kept offers largely firm, falling bids for Japanese scrap in China and South Korea have turned sentiments bearish.
Leave a Reply