Posted on 19 Aug 2022
Hyundai Steel has raised its bid prices for Japanese scrap, Kallanish notes.
The Korean steelmaker posted bids for Japanese H2 scrap on 18 August at JPY 42,500/tonne ($315/t) fob. The mill previously bid for H2 scrap at JPY 40,500/t on 21 July.
The steelmaker also bid on Thursday for H1/H2 scrap at JPY 43,000/t and shredded scrap at JPY 47,000/t. Its bid prices for HS and Shindachi grades are unchanged at JPY 48,000/t.
A South Korean trader heard that JPY 42,500/t was the lowest price offered to the mill on Wednesday. He believes Hyundai accepted the offer because it will not be able to secure any material otherwise. Scrap markets in Japan, Vietnam and China are firming, he notes. "Turkish scrap buying prices have increased," another South Korean trader says. "There is not much quantity available at low prices from scrap suppliers.”
In Japan, leading EAF operator Tokyo Steel will pay JPY 43,000/t for H2 grade scrap trucked to its Utsunomiya steelworks effective 19 August. The mill was previously paying JPY 41,000/t since 29 July.
Japanese scrap prices have risen quickly in Vietnam. Offers for Japanese H2 scrap were at $365/t Vietnam cfr a week ago before the long Japanese holiday but quotes have since sprung up to $395-400/t cfr.
Vietnamese buyers are able to pay around $375-380/t cfr, says a trader who describes the scrap price uptrend as "crazy". Prices rose by $10/t in the afternoon from $385-390/t cfr on Thursday morning, "right after Tokyo Steel raised their prices", a buyer says. But it is difficult to say how much Vietnamese buyers would pay for H2 because the Chinese steel market has weakened, he adds.
Source:Kallanish
