Weekly round-up: Global scrap prices show mixed trends

• Turkey’s imported scrap prices edge down: The imported scrap trade in Turkey remained active over the last few days with several deals getting concluded. Steel mills actively restocked fresh cargoes for Dec’21 shipments and buyers did not seem to be in a hurry to make further fresh bookings. As an alternative, deep-sea cargo suppliers continued to fulfil domestic requirements at higher offers.

A USA-origin cargo, containing 20,000 tonnes (t) of HMS 1&2 (90:10) and 10,000 t of shredded material, was booked at an average price of $513/t CFR. The cargo was booked by a steel mill based in the West Marmara region.

SteelMint’s assessment for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) stands at $500/t CFR Turkey, slightly down by $1-2/t w-o-w.

• Japanese scrap export prices fall: Japanese scrap export prices fell after a two-month gap, as trade slowed down at higher offers. Prominent buyers like Vietnam and South Korea started preferring US- and Russia-origin bulk scrap cargo which made Japanese suppliers lower their export offers.

SteelMint’s assessment for Japanese H2 stands at JPY 54,500/t FOB levels, down by JPY 200/t w-o-w.

• Tokyo Steel cuts scrap procurement prices: Japan’s leading steel producer, Tokyo Steel, cut its scrap buy prices after a gap of two months. The steelmaker lowered bids by JPY 1,000/t ($9/t) for its Tahara steelworks from 30 Oct’21. Post-revision, the company’s bid price for H2 scrap stands at JPY 58,000/t ($509/t) for the Tahara works, while prices for the other Tokyo steel plants remain unchanged.

Prices in JPY
Source: Tokyo Steel

• POSCO lowers bids for Japanese scrap: South Korean steel major POSCO lowered bids this week for Japanese ferrous scrap after a gap of two months, as per SteelDaily reports accessed by SteelMint. Bids edged lower by JPY 2,500/t ($22/t) for shredded ferrous scrap to JPY 65,500/t ($574/t). Bids for HS material are at JPY 68,500/t ($601/t).
• Dongkuk Steel books two bulk scrap cargoes: South Korea’s Dongkuk Steel booked 40,000 t of Russia-origin A3 grade scrap at $549/t CFR. A 30,000 t of US-origin bulk scrap HMS 1 cargo was booked at $542/t CFR for Nov-Dec’21 arrival, as per SteelDaily reports. Prices have increased by around $15/t compared to previous bookings. The contract is expected to help the company alleviate the shortage in scrap supply.
• Vietnam’s imported scrap trade continues to improve: Imported scrap offers to Vietnam continued with their uptrend on increased demand from end-users in both the domestic and overseas markets. Scrap buyers sustained their inquiries for imported scrap despite high offers. In contrast, increased freight rates and container availability kept global scrap prices high.

SteelMint’s assessment for Japanese bulk H2 is being quoted at $555/t CFR, up by $10-15/t w-o-w.

• Shagang lowers scrap procurement prices by $13/t: China’s Shagang Jiangsu Steel announced the fourth reduction in its scrap procurement prices during Oct’21 by RMB 80/t ($13/t) for all grades. After the revision, the price of HMS (6-10 mm) stands at RMB 3,650/t ($570/t), including 13% VAT. Chinese steel mills have sufficient scrap inventory and are not actively procuring at present.
• Bangladesh imported scrap prices continue to increase: Imported scrap offers to steel mills in Bangladesh continued to move up on restocking, with a few deals concluded recently. There were active deals by the steel mills for HMS and shredded material in containers amid limited bulk offers from suppliers. However, high offers from the imported scrap market and increasing domestic scrap prices kept mini mills on the sidelines.

SteelMint’s assessment for UK-origin shredded is at $580/t CFR Chittagong levels, up marginally by $1/t w-o-w.

• Pakistan imported scrap prices show uptrend: Buyers of imported scrap in Pakistan continued booking fresh slots for Dec’21 shipments. While imported scrap offers remained mostly stable w-o-w, with increasing demand from end-users in the domestic market, industry participants are looking to restock actively.

SteelMint’s daily assessment for shredded scrap of UK/EU-origin stands at $563/t CFR Port Qasim.

• India’s imported scrap trade slowed down: The Indian scrap market slowed down towards the weekend, ahead of the Diwali festival next week. However, few deals were heard booked at favourably lower prices. Furthermore, limited offers were received due to disparity in bids and offers. However, steelmakers and scrap buyers feel buying activities are likely to pick up post-Diwali.

As per SteelMint’s daily assessment, shredded are at $558/t levels, moving up by $5-10/t w-o-w.