Posted on 28 Jan 2022
Japanese scrap prices continue to strengthen in South Korea, Kallanish notes. Leading South Korean EAF steelmaker Hyundai Steel raised its bid prices for Japanese scrap on 27 January by JPY 500-1,500/tonne ($4-13/t) in its regular purchase auction.
Hyundai’s latest bid price for H2 is at JPY 52,000/t ($451/t) fob, up JPY 1,000/t from the week before. Its bid for shredded scrap was at JPY 58,500/t, up JPY 500/t, and for Shindachi Bara (loose) scrap at JPY 59,500/t, up JPY 1,500/t, in the same auction. The mill’s bid for HS grade scrap at JPY 60,000/t was unchanged from last week.
The price hike was expected because Japanese domestic scrap prices are firm and the domestic market in South Korea is strengthening, a Seoul trader says. “Some of the suppliers will accept Hyundai’s latest bid prices. But in the next round, they could be looking to sell H2 at JPY 53,000-54,000/t fob,” he adds. Tokyo Steel is currently paying JPY 53,000/t for H2 grade trucked to its Utsunomiya steelworks, effective 13 January.
In Vietnam, the latest offer for Japanese H2 scrap was at $520/t cfr southern Vietnam, a mill source said on Thursday. He is unsure what the last booking price was. Japanese H2 scrap was offered at $510-515/t cfr on around 20 January.
A trader says he has not heard of scrap offers or deals in the past week. “I hear that scrap offers have risen and suppliers are withholding offers. Buyers’ price idea was still $500/t cfr for Japanese H2 scrap,” he says. The Vietnamese market is quiet because many offices have shut down for the long Lunar New Year holiday, he adds.
Source:Kallanish
