Indonesia
Most mills have ramped up production with expectations of finished steel trades to improve in August when some major infrastructure projects are scheduled to commence in Indonesia. Amid a shortage of domestic ferrous scrap, mills are focusing on imported scrap. Buyers in the country are presently paying higher prices than most Asian markets, making it a preferred destination for containerized scrap exporters.
The index for HMS 1&2(80:20) rose by $11/mt to $263/mt cfr Jakarta
Trades for containerized #1 busheling and P&S 5ft from the US were heard at $305-310/mt cfr and $295-300/mt cfr, respectively. The indexes for #1 busheling rose by $12/mt to $307/mt cfr and for P&S by $17/mt to $296/mt cfr Jakarta.
The index for shredded rose by $5/mt to $281/mt cfr with few trades heard this week at $278/mt cfr. Offers for US-origin material rose by $10/mt to $285/mt cfr with expectations of a further rise in the coming days. But the upcoming Eid holidays might pause trades for a few days.
P&S prices crossed the $300/mt cfr mark and are expected to rise further as suppliers gear up to follow the new regulations passed for ferrous scrap imports by the Indonesian government.
In the bulk market, offers for Japanese HS were at $310/mt cfr.
Taiwan
Bullish ferrous scrap offers in Taiwan were supported by healthy buying by Turkish mills this week.
The Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose by $3/mt from the prior day to $248/mt cfr Taiwan, which was up by $5/mt from last Thursday. Offers for the material in FEUs were at $250-255/mt this week, while bids were at $245/mt cfr.
Demand for finished steel continues to be under pressure but manufacturers are forecasting good demand in September. Turkish prices rose again with the Davis Index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) rising by over $2/mt on Wednesday from Tuesday and by $5/mt from last Thursday. Market participants are expecting a further rise in offer prices amid increased buying in South East Asian countries.
Taiwanese mills booked South American HMS 1&2 (70:30) in limited quantities this week at $240/mt cfr. While deals for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) were at $243-245/mt cfr.
The weekly Davis index for containerized #1busheling and P&S 5ft settled at $275/mt cfr and $270/mt cfr Taiwan, respectively, both up by $9/mt. Offers for US-origin busheling were at $275-280/mt cfr with bids ranging in $270-275/mt cfr. Hence, no major trades were heard.
The index for weekly shredded settled at $263/mt cfr Taiwan, up by $7/mt, and index for #1 HMS increased by $5/mt to $255/mt from the prior week.
Japanese small bulk cargoes of HMS 1&2 (50:50) were offered at $262-270/mt cfr Taiwan, while bids were at $258/mt cfr .
Vietnam
In the containers market, the weekly index for HMS1&2 (80:20) rose by $4/mt to $246/mt cfr. No major deals were heard. The weekly index for #1 HMS was increased by $8/mt to $254/mt cfr, while the index for P&S 5ft rose by $7/mt to $280/mt cfr.
Offers for containerized US-origin HMS1&2 (80:20) in TEUs were at $245/cfr and $260/mt in FEUs. Offers for South American HMS1&2 (60:40)in FEUs were at $235/mt cfr and for PNS at $280-285/mt. Vietnam’s containerized market has been slow with no major deals heard this week due to limited domestic demand and a focus on bulk imports.
In the bulk market, Japanese-origin HMS 1&2(50:50) was offered at $265-278/mt cfr Vietnam on Thursday, while shindachi was offered at $297-300/mt cfr. Offers were up $10-15/mt from last week.