Weekly round-up: Global ferrous scrap prices head north

Global scrap prices set a new high as Turkey booked its recent deals at increased levels. The most-awaited Japan’s monthly Kanto scrap export tender was concluded with bids hitting a multi-year high. China’s Shagang Steel raised scrap buying prices this week after a gap of two straight months.

Global Market Highlights:

• Turkey’s imported scrap prices hit a new high: Prices of Turkish imported scrap surged further after buyers closed deals with European suppliers. Negotiations were taking place for fresh cargoes. Suppliers were looking for opportunities to keep raising their offers, as mills were in need for the material, SteelMint learnt.

Additionally, the war between Russia and Ukraine affected the Turkish steel sector with domestic prices moving up significantly on a d-o-d basis on lower availability.

A Baltic-origin cargo comprising HMS (80:20) was booked at $645/t CFR Turkey and shredded material at $685/t CFR Turkey by a steel mill based in the Mediterranean region. A Europe-origin cargo of HMS (80:20) was booked at $640/t CFR.

SteelMint’s assessment of US-origin HMS 1 & 2 (80:20) prices increased to a multi-year high of $650/t CFR Turkey.

• Kanto scrap export tender set offers at new high: A total of 10,000 tonnes (t) of scrap was awarded and the average price for H2 scrap stood at around JPY 63,510/t ($548/t) FAS, higher by JPY 7,665/t ($66/t) m-o-m, SteelMint learnt from sources.
• Hyundai Steel hikes bids for Japanese scrap: South Korea’s Hyundai Steel hiked bids for Japanese scrap recently by JPY 7,000/t ($60/t) against the last bid on 3 Mar’22. After the revision, bids for H2 grade were at JPY 63,500/t ($544/t), while for HS grade were at JPY 68,500/t ($587/t) FOB. Prices rose due to high uncertainty in the global scrap market and the surge in Kanto export tender bids.
  
• Tokyo Steel hikes scrap procurement prices: Tokyo Steel hiked scrap buying prices on 9 Mar’22 by $26/t after one month gap. Notably, prices peaked since 2017 as per SteelMint data. Post revision, the company’s bid price for H2 scrap stood at JPY 60,000/t ($518/t) delivered to the Tahara and Utsunomiya plants, effective 10 Mar’22. The surge in bids in the Kanto scrap export tender drove domestic offers higher.

Source: Tokyo Steel
Prices in JPY

• Shagang Steel raises scrap buying prices: China’s Jiangsu Shagang Group announced a hike in scrap procurement prices for the first time in Mar’22 this week, after a gap of two months. The steel producer raised prices by RMB 80/t ($13/t) for all grades, effective from 7 March. After the revision, prices of HMS (6-10mm) stood at RMB 3,770/t ($596/t) delivered to headquarters, including 13% VAT.
• SE Asia’s imported scrap offers edge up: Looking at the current global market scenario, imported scrap prices into Vietnam also surged to a new high. Meanwhile, domestic prices followed the global cues.

SteelMint’s assessment for Japanese bulk H2 stood at $600/t CFR Vietnam, up by $20-25/t w-o-w.

• Pakistan’s imported scrap market quiet, prices surge: The country’s imported scrap prices continued to head north, registering a new high on a d-o-d basis. Considering high offers, scrap buyers and steelmakers stepped back from booking fresh cargoes. Hence, no fresh deals were heard so far in this week.

Around 5,500 t of UK/EU-origin shredded scrap in containers was booked at $620-625/t CFR Qasim towards the middle of the week.

SteelMint’s assessment for UK/EU-origin shredded scrap stood at $630-635/t CFR Port Qasim, up by $50-55/t w-o-w.

• Bangladesh mills active in imported container scrap trade: The Russia-Ukraine war disrupted the market. High offers from major suppliers impacted the global market. Similarly, imported scrap trade slowed down in Bangladesh, while both buyers and suppliers were quiet. However, buyers were booking only to fulfill their immediate requirements.

SteelMint’s daily assessment for UK-origin shredded scrap in containers was recorded at $655/t CFR Chittagong, an increase of $45-50/t on weekly basis.

• India’s imported scrap trade slows down: Indian imported scrap market witnessed a slow down in trade later this week after remaining active in the last couple of weeks. As the global market was impacted due to supply chain constraints caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, imported scrap offers continued to rally. However, with a slowdown in semi-finished and finished steel trade towards the end of the week, imported scrap inquiries turned limited.

SteelMint’s daily assessment of UK-origin shredded scrap stood at $635/t CFR Nhava Sheva, up sharply by over $55-60/t w-o-w.