Asian imported ferrous scrap prices remained on a downtrend for a fourth consecutive week. Southeast and East Asian markets were flooded with offers amid an oversupply of scrap relative to global demand. Buyers, however, were in a ‘wait-and-see’ mode hoping for prices to fall further.
Suppliers expect prices to rebound in mid-February driven by a rise in finished steel demand in the domestic Asian markets.
The Davis Index for US-origin bulk HMS 1&2 (80:20) fell by $18.5/mt from Jan 29 to $254/mt cfr Turkey. A fall in Turkey prices dragged Asian bulk and containerised scrap prices down in the week.
South Korea
Buying activity by South Korean steel mills increased as they restocked scrap inventories. Prices matched buyers’ expectations after they fell over $20/mt.
US West Coast-origin bulk scrap cargo prices dropped over $30/mt from mid-January levels.
Davis Index learned that Hyundai Steel booked a bulk cargo of 32,000mt #1 HMS at $261/mt cfr South Korea. The booking price was $15/mt lower than offers in the prior week. A prior bulk deal for the same grade concluded at $287.5/mt cfr South Korea before the Lunar New Year holidays.
Two Russian origin A3 scrap bulk cargoes of 15,000mt and 10,000mt traded at $255/mt cfr South Korea.
Japanese origin Busheling scrap traded at JPY28,000/mt cfr South Korea in the beginning of this week.
Hyundai Steel also booked over 10,000mt of #2 HMS at JPY26,000-26,500/mt cfr South Korea.
Taiwan
Taiwan’s imported scrap prices fell by $15-20/mt from last week amid weak global cues and sluggish finished steel demand in the country.
Construction projects in Taiwan undertaken by Chinese entities are likely to be affected by China’s Coronavirus outbreak. The slowdown in these projects could affect finished steel demand in Taiwan.
The weekly Davis Index for containerised US-origin HMS 1&2(80:20) settled at $233/mt cfr Taiwan on Thursday, down by $15/mt.
Containerised HMS 1&2 (80:20) traded at $238/mt cfr Taiwan on Monday this week. Prices fell in the latter half of the week to $230-235/mt cfr Taiwan.
The Davis Index for Japanese bulk H1&H2 (50:50) scrap fell by $20/mt to $245/mt cfr Taiwan, from the prior week. Bids by major mills for Japanese H1&2 (50:50) lowered to $240/mt cfr Taiwan, Japanese scrap suppliers were reluctant to lower offers as they waited for the monthly scrap export Kanto tender prices which will be declared next week.
Vietnam
Vietnamese steel mills stayed away from buying imported ferrous scrap this week.The weekly index for containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) fell to $250/mt cfr Vietnam, down by $13/mt.
There was a flood of offers for bulk ferrous scrap cargoes from Japanese suppliers to Vietnamese steel mills this week. With weak demand in their domestic markets, Japanese traders turned towards Vietnamese markets hoping for transactions. But buyers shied away from bids.
Japanese bulk cargoes for #2 HMS were offered at $255-260/mt cfr south Vietnam and $260/mt cfr north Vietnam port, down $20/mt from the prior week. Bids were at $250/mt cfr Vietnam.
US origin P&S 5ft was offered at $260-262/mt cfr Vietnam. Japanese origin HS scrap bulk cargoes were offered at $275-280/mt cfr Vietnam, down $20/mt from a week ago.
Indonesia
Indonesian steel mills refrained from buying ferrous scrap as they waited for prices to decline further. Only a few producers booked Busheling and P&S scrap to meet their immediate production requirements.
The Davis Index for containerized P&S 5ft settled at $290/mt cfr Jakarta, down $10/mt from the prior week. Singapore origin P&S ferrous scrap traded at $304/mt cfr Indonesia early this week.
The weekly index for Busheling settled at $305/mt cfr Jakarta, down $3/mt. Busheling traded at $308/mt cfr Jakarta early this week. Prices declined to $302-304/mt cfr Jakarta later in the week, according to a Davis source.
The Davis Index for containerised shredded settled at $281/mt cfr Jakarta, down by $7/mt from the prior week.
The index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $255/mt cfr Jakarta, down $8/mt from the prior week. US suppliers were reluctant to lower their offers and match mills’ bids which were at $250-252/mt cfr Jakarta early this week.
Bangladesh
Steel mills in Bangladesh stayed away from bulk bookings as they held abundant inventories in hand. Trades for containerised HMS 1&2 (80:20) from South America were at $275-278/mt cfr Chattogram, down $10/mt from a week ago. Containerised shredded was offered at $285-290/mt cfr Chittagong, with limited trades at these prices.
India
Prices for shredded in India were higher than those in Pakistan and Bangladesh on relatively stronger finished steel demand. Containerised shredded traded in the range $280-285/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. South African origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) closed at $285/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.