Active buying interest and rise in semi-finished and finished steel prices have resulted in Vietnam mills raising bids for domestic scrap. Domestic scrap prices for H2 grade are now seen hovering around VND 10,750/Kg ($467). Prices have increased by a further VND 300/kg ($13) last week.
Rebar increased sharply by VND 400/t in North (Hanoi) Vietnam, touching VND 16,000-16,100/t levels. Whereas in the south (Ho Chi Minh) Vietnam prices have increased by VND 600/kg, reaching VND 16,100-16,200/kg basis.
Imported scrap offers mostly continued to move north, trades in small quantity continued to happen. Market participants have indicated that offers are likely to come down owing to Japanese holidays approaching next week.
- SteelMint assessment for imported Japanese H2 scrap offers to Vietnam currently stand at $465/t CFR Vietnam levels, up by $7 against beginning of the last week
- Whereas, the same for USA origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) stands steady at $455/t CFR Vietnam.
Vietnam’s ferrous scrap imports rebound by a whooping72% m-o-m in Mar’21: SE Asia’s largest ferrous scrap importer- Vietnam has observed a massive increase of 72% m-o-m in monthly import volumes in Mar’21. The country imported 0.55 mn t ferrous scrap in Mar’21 as against 0.32 mn t a month ago, as per the data maintained with SteelMint. Japan continues to remain the largest exporter at 0.22 mn t, stable against last month. Robust domestic demand along with active billet inquiries from China have kept scrap imports supported.
Vietnam’s production and sales increases in Q1 CY’21: Vietnam’s domestic steel production & sales increased significantly according to the recently released data by VSA.
- Production of steel reached 7,664,258 t, up 33.8% over the CPLY
- Sales reached 6,780,361 t, up 34.7% over the same period in 2020
Steel exports of all kinds reached 1,634,540 t, an increase of 59.5% compared to the first quarter of 2020.
Bid prices increase in Indonesia by $10 w-o-w: Bid price for imported scrap has increased during the mid of April. Due to the ongoing Ramadan month, buyers were more focused on nearby origin materials which remains the major reason behind higher purchase price.
Indicative imported scrap offers:
- PNS: $460-465/t CFR Jakarta
- Busheling: $470-475/t CFR Jakarta
- HMS 1&2 (80:20): $440/t CFR Jakarta
Thailand market quiet amid holidays: Last week market was closed due to holidays on account of Thai New Year. However, prices have rolled over and no major changes were reported. Central America origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) is being offered at $410/t CFR levels, slightly dropping by $5/t levels.
Taiwan’s scrap market indicates improvement: Taiwan’s imported scrap market has shown improvement in trades as price goes up. Fresh offers have gone up by $15 w-o-w and are as follows-
- HMS 1&2 (80:20): $415-425/t CFR Kaohsiung
- Shredded 211: $428-435/t CFR Taichung
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