Posted on 14 Jan 2021
Kanto Tetsugen's latest export tender for Japanese H2 grade scrap from Tokyo Bay reflects the firming market over the past month, Kallanish notes.
The tender shows an average price increase of JPY 6,041/tonne ($58/t) from last month's tender to JPY 44,751/t ($431/t) fas. But the strong price rallies seen in Japanese scrap in recent weeks could be ending soon.
The Kanto Tetsugen Cooperative Association auction on 13 January awarded Toyota Tsusho Material Incorporated’s bid for 15,000 tonnes at JPY 44,751/t fas. The association announced that 15 companies submitted bids for a total of 119,750t. In last month’s tender, 15 companies also submitted bids but their combined bidding volume was higher at 167,600t.
Meanwhile, the Japanese domestic market is showing signs of softening for the first time after continued hikes since 12 November. Leading electric arc furnace operator Tokyo Steel lowered prices by JPY 1,000/t to JPY 42,000/t ($395/t) for H2 scrap purchases trucked to its Utsunomiya steelworks, located north of Tokyo, effective 14 January. The company, however, maintained its scrap purchase prices unchanged at all other steelworks.
"Even though the Kanto tender price has increased, I don't think that prices can rise further," a regional scrap trader says. A Vietnamese trader says that mills in Vietnam are unwilling to chase after higher-priced scrap and are trying to bid lower for scrap. "Local demand for rebar is quite slow," he says.
Source:Kallanish
