Vietnam’s imported scrap market remained mostly quiet amid disparity in bids and offers, despite the offers having come down to 4-5 months lows. Mills are waiting for Japan’s monthly Kanto Tetsugen ferrous scrap export tender which has been scheduled for 9 June 2022, for clearer market directions, sources informed SteelMint. Lower bids from participants resulted in the tender remaining inconclusive last month.
Additionally, buyers and steelmakers preferred domestic materials as these were more cost-competitive.
Japanese bulk H2 offers are now at $470/t CFR, down by $10/t w-o-w. Meanwhile, the country’s major mill, Tokyo Steel, has lowered its domestic scrap prices further by JPY 500/t ($4/t) for the Utsunomiya steelworks and Nagoya yard. Hence, Vietnamese market participants expect export offers to fall further.
Meanwhile, no firm offers were heard from US bulk suppliers. However, containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) from the same origin was at $445/t CFR Vietnam levels. Few deals are heard to have been concluded at these levels.
The finished steel market for domestic and overseas buyers is likely to improve from mid-June as the lifting of China’s lockdown and economic stability in that country are likely to improve the demand for Vietnam’s billets and steel in the near term.
Vietnam’s billet export offers down: Vietnam’s blast furnace (BF)-route billet export offers stood at around $625/t FOB, a decrease of $10/t w-o-w. The billet market remained less active due to the gap between bids and offers.
Other SE Asia scrap markets overview
- Thailand: Central America-origin HMS 1&2 (70:30) was offered at $390-400/t CFR. Offers have inched down further by $5/t w-o-w. No firm deals were heard last week.
- Indonesia: Imported offers for Hong Kong-origin oversized PNS were at $533/t CFR Jakarta and that from Singapore were heard at around $542/t CFR.
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