Weekly: Global ferrous scrap market overview

• China became an active player after resumption of free import duties
• Japanese scrap suppliers raised bids for China this week 
• Japan’s domestic scrap prices too spiked this week
• Turkey’s imported scrap price rebounded after falling early this week
• In India the Covid explosion has forced many secondary mills to curtail production and scrap trades remained muted

Country wise details are as follows:

• Turkey’s imported scrap prices rebounded in recent deals – Imported scrap offers to Turkey went through numerous fluctuations throughout the week. Prices came down earlier this week and have now moved up in recent bookings for May & early June shipments. Suppliers have started quoting higher offers for June shipment cargoes. Buyers are expecting offers to go up further before Eid holidays. SteelMint’s assessment for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) stands at $429/t CFR Turkey, up by $5-10/t against beginning of this week.
• Tokyo Steel hiked scrap purchase price by up to JPY 1,000/t ($9) – Japan’s leading EAF mill – Tokyo Steel has announced its third price hike for scrap purchase this week for three works by up to JPY 1,000/t ($9). Currently, the company is paying JPY 44,000/t ($409) and JPY 43,500/t ($404) respectively for H2 scrap delivered at Okayama and Kyushu works. No price revision has been made for Tahara and Utsunomiya works.
• Imported scrap offers to Vietnam rise further – Vietnamese buyers are actively procuring Japanese scrap and small trades continue to happen for the third consecutive week. Offers for Japanese H2 rose by $15/t to $480/t CFR as compared to the beginning of the week.
• India’s imported scrap trades slowed down further this week- Due to stringent lockdown restrictions that have been implemented in different parts of the country, amidst an exponential growth in COVID cases, the imported scrap prices have remained largely stable this week. This has forced many secondary steel producers (alloy & stainless steel producers) to curtail production, SteelMint learnt from its credible sources. SteelMint assessment for shredded offers in containers remain mostly firm at $460-465/t CFR Nhava Sheva basis. UK/EU and Australia origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) are being offered at $440/t CFR Nhava Sheva and $445/t CFR levels respectively.
• Bangladesh bulk imported scrap trades remain silent- Bulk trades remained absent for yet another week due to disparity in bids and offers and the ongoing lockdown. On the other hand, continuous fluctuations in freight rates kept the buyers away from the market. Japanese H2 bulk offers were at $490/t levels towards the closing of the week.

Lockdown restrictions kept container market muted this week as there is no active interest in booking fresh containers because of lockdown restrictions. There is an apprehension that all manufacturing units which are currently exempted might be closed down due to Covid resurgence. SteelMint’s assessment for containerized shredded scrap is at $480/t CFR Chittagong basis.

• Pakistan imported scrap prices inched up in global offers –Imported scrap offers in Pakistan have moved up against the beginning of this week tracking a rebound in Turkish imported scrap prices. Containerized shredded scrap offers of UK origin are now seen at $460-465/t CFR Port Qasim. SteelMint’s bi-weekly price assessment for Shredded scrap stood at $460/t CFR Port Qasim, up by $2/t against the beginning of the last week. 
• South Korean mills remain silent this week – South Korean steel mills did not bid for Japanese scrap this week. Increased inquiries from other prominent Japanese scrap buyers like Vietnam, Bangladesh and China before the Japanese Golden Week holidays have kept scrap prices at higher level. SteelMint’s assessment for Japanese H2 scrap export is at JPY 44,000-45,000/t ($409-418) FoB, up by JPY 500/t FoB w-o-w.

• Japanese scrap suppliers raise offers for China by $20-Japanese scrap offers have climbed further by $20/t before the Golden Week holidays and offers have increased to $520/t CFR levels. Trades of around 3,000 t have been concluded recently at $505/t CFR basis for Japanese HRS 101-grade scrap. However, Chinese mills are yet to raise their bids for Japanese scrap to the tune of quoted offers. Hence, disparity in bids and offers are likely to keep market muted.
• China’s Shagang Steel keep scrap purchase prices unchanged this week – Eastern China’s EAF steelmaker – Shagang Group has kept scrap purchase prices untouched for this week. The company has announced a price hike on 12th Apr’21 by RMB 70/t ($11) and currently price for HMS (6-10 mm) stood at RMB 3,490/t ($537), inclusive of 13% VAT, delivered to headquarters works at Zhangjiagang North of Shanghai in China.