Hyundai Steel books Russian scrap; Japanese export trades turn slow

Hyundai Steel- South Korea’s major steel manufacturer, has booked 80,000 t bulk scrap cargo for Russian A3 grade scrap recently, as per Steel Daily reports. The deal was concluded at $303/t CFR Korea basis, increasing significantly by $38/t against the last deal was concluded by the company at $265/t CFR basis during the mid-Aug ’20.

The prices have increased on monthly basis, on supply tightness, and increased domestic demand for scrap. Russian A3 scrap prices have almost similar to Japanese HS grade scrap, considering around JPY 35,000/t ($ 335) CFR basis.

Prior to this, Hyundai Steel presented bids for Japanese scrap purchases in last week’s closing. The company had put up bids for Japanese H2 scrap at JPY 28,000/t ($268) FoB Japan, while for HS grade scrap bid price set at JPY 32,000/t ($ 307) FoB Japan level.

South Korean buyers remain less active for Japanese scrap bookings

Currently, Japanese suppliers have quoted for H2 scrap at of JPY 29,000/t ($278) FoB basis. SteelMint assessment for Japanese scrap export stands at JPY 28,500/t ($ 273) FoB Japan, lower by JPY 500/t w-o-w.

“Buyers have vanished. Market sentiments have softened and prices are likely to come down”, shared a Japanese scrap trader with SteelMint.

Korean buyers have not placed firm bids for Japanese scrap this week and have quoted low bids, thus widening the gap between buyers’ bid and offers.

Japan’s domestic market

Japan’s leading EAF mini mill- Tokyo Steel raised its scrap purchase price by JPY 1,000 ($9) for Tahara plant and JPY 500 ($5) for Kyushu works. Notably, this is the company’s second hike made for Tahara works in the last four days. Revised offers have come into effect from 15th Sep’20.