- Japanese scrap suppliers worried as freight rates hike & domestic prices fall
- South Korean mills book bulk US cargoes
- Bangladesh mills book two US bulk scrap cargoes at lower prices
- Turkey’s imported scrap prices soften by $15 w-o-w – Turkey’s imported scrap prices continued to decline in recent deals. Turkey has been absent from the US deep-sea export market for more than a week, as mills are holding out due to lower prices. Market sentiments are negative this week, prices are expected to bottom out by the end of the Mar’21. SteelMint’s assessment for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) stood at $430/t CFR Turkey, down by $15/t w-o-w.
- Tokyo Steel slashed scrap prices twice this week – Japan’s leading EAF mill – Tokyo Steel has lowered its scrap purchase price twice this week for four of its plants by JPY 500/t ($5). The company is now paying JPY 41,500 ($380) and JPY 41,000 ($370) for H2 scrap delivered at Tahara and Utsunomiya respectively. H2 scrap prices in its Tahara work have come down to similar levels seen in early Mar’21.
- Japan’s Kansai scrap export tender bids fall by $28 against Kanto tender – Japan’s Kansai-Cheorwon, scrap export tender for Mar’21 was concluded this week. The winning bid was awarded 5,000 t of Japanese H2 at an average price of JPY 39,950/t ($366) FAS, up by JPY 945/t ($9) as compared to the previous Kansai tender of Feb’21. The tender price has decreased significantly by JPY 3,026/t ($28) as compared to Kanto tender, concluded last week.
- South Korean mills lower bids for Japanese scrap – South Korean mills remained active this week and booked bulk cargoes. Due to high scrap prices from Russia and Japan, South Korean mills have started making inquiries for US cargoes and two cargoes were booked from US. With the recent hike in freight rates, Japanese scrap export trades have slowed down. Dongkuk Steel has signed a contract for 20,000 t of bulk Japanese H2 scrap cargo earlier in the week. The price for H2 scrap was reported at JPY 41,000/t ($376) FoB basis. The price is around JPY 1,000 lower than Hyundai Steel’s bid placed last week.
SteelMint’s assessment for Japanese H2 scrap export stands at JPY 41,000/t ($377) FoB, registering a sharp fall of JPY 3,000/t ($28) w-o-w. - Limited Japanese scrap offers floated for Vietnam market – Increased freight rates from Japan to Vietnam have kept the majority of scrap exporters quiet. Most of the suppliers are not interested to sell big volumes on longer distances due to volatility in vessel freight rates and the current logistics situation. Price indications for bulk Japanese H2 are now at $445-450/t CFR Vietnam.
- India’s imported scrap trades improve marginally – Indian scrap market has witnessed a marginal improvement in imported scrap trades during the past one week. Prices have dropped significantly on a weekly basis. Moreover, now suppliers are holding back offers and waiting for the market to stabilize. SteelMint’s assessment for containerized shredded of UK/US origin stands at $435/t CFR Nhava Sheva level, down by $10/t w-o-w.
Indian Union Minister- Nitin Gadkari has announced a voluntary vehicle scrappage policy on 18th Mar’21 in Lok Sabha. The policy aims to improve fuel efficiency and reduce cost of components for the auto industry. In an advisory issued, all vehicle manufacturers to offer 5% discount while selling a new vehicle against a scrapping certificate. - Bangladesh mills book two bulk cargoes from US – No firm bulk Japanese scrap offer was heard this week, however, few market sources shared that two USA origin bulk scrap cargo bookings were concluded in the last two days, though the price and quantity were not confirmed till the time of publishing this report. Japanese H2 now stands at $460/t CFR Chittagong level. SteelMint’s assessment for containerized shredded of UK origin stood at $465/t Chittagong levels, down by $10/t w-o-w.
Imported scrap trades in Bangladesh have remained active this week with bookings being heard both in containers and bulk segments. Containerized scrap trades was bullish in Dhaka as various trade activities have been observed for imported scrap at lower-level prices in last few days in Dhaka. - Pakistan imported scrap trades remain limited on bid-offer disparity – Imported scrap offers continue to dip in Pakistan. However, few deals in small quantities continued to happen. The market is under pressure now and not many buyers are active in the market at the moment due to an unsupportive domestic market. However, market insiders believe that activities may increase before the Ramadan month starts. SteelMint’s assessment for UK/EU origin containerized shredded stood at $433/t CFR Qasim levels, largely stable w-o-w.
- China’s Shagang Steel keep scrap purchase price unchanged – Shagang Steel has kept its scrap purchase price unchanged from the last two weeks. On 2nd Mar’21, the company had hiked the price by RMB 100/t ($15). Currently, price for HMS (6-10 mm) stands at RMB 3,390/t ($520), inclusive of 13% VAT, delivered to headquarters.
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