Posted on 09 Sep 2022
Vietnamese scrap demand has slackened amid expectations that a glut in regional scrap supply will arise in the region, Kallanish notes. Mills in Vietnam have withdrawn from the Japanese scrap market after two Korean steel mills, Posco and Hyundai Steel, suspended their operations in Pohang after a super typhoon flooded their facilities on Tuesday.
The Vietnamese mills withdrew their bids for H2 at $415/tonne cfr Vietnam on Wednesday. Vietnamese buyers are in wait-and-see mode for Japanese scrap, a Hanoi trader says. He believes that current offers for Japanese H2 grade scrap are prevailing at $410-420/t cfr Vietnam.
“They [Vietnamese buyers] think that prices will come down. And some mills are looking to book at $390/t cfr only," a trader in southern Vietnam says. The buyers believe that Korean scrap demand will fall. Deals previously concluded at $415/t cfr Vietnam early this week.
The results of the Japanese Kanto scrap export tender on 9 September will provide some clarity on where the market is headed. “If the Kanto scrap tender does not fall too much, I don’t think that sellers will accept $390/t cfr soon,” the first trader says.
Meanwhile, the rebar import market is quiet in East Asia, with very thin buying interest. Malaysian theoretical-weight rebar is offered at around $600/t delivered-at-place Singapore. This would be equivalent to $590/t cfr Singapore. “There is nothing going on. Buyers’ price idea is $570/t cfr. They prefer to wait and see,” a Singapore trader says. Middle Eastern rebar is offered at $585-595/t cfr Singapore. Two large Chinese mills are targeting to export theoretical-weight rebar at $600-610/t fob.
The above-mentioned Malaysian mill is also heard offering actual-weight rebar at $620/t cfr Hong Kong. But no deals are heard to have been transacted. Kallanish assessed BS4449 500B 10-40mm diameter rebar at $580-590/t cfr Singapore theoretical weight, unchanged on-week.
Source:Kallanish
