Japan’s ferrous scrap prices remained flat, amidst steel mills cutting down on raw-material orders and a fall in global prices of HMS 1&2 (80:20) by $10/mt. Prices remained unchanged in Japan on low domestic consumption. Exports from Japan too declined with a fall in demand from South Korean mills.
Japan
The Kansai scrap export tender closed at JPY25,650/mt at last week’s close, JPY1,017/mt lower than market price, which put a downward pressure on Japanese ferrous scrap prices.
The weekly Davis Index for #2 HMS scrap lowered marginally to JPY25,917/mt ($236/mt) fob Japan on Wednesday, down from JPY26,182/mt fob Japan.
Domestic finished steel demand in Japan was subdued for yet another week as construction activities remained limited.
The buying interest for Japanese #2 HMS was at JPY25,500-26,000/mt fob Japan.
The Davis index for busheling settled at JPY28,650/mt fob Japan on Wednesday, unchanged from the prior week.
Tokyo Steel’s bids for Japanese scrap remained unchanged amidst plant maintenance activities announced during the Chinese New Year holidays.
Tokyo Steel’s prices for #2 HMS remained unchanged at JPY25,000/mt delivered Tahara and Utsunomiya plants.
The bids for #2 HMS in Okayama and Takamatsu were at JPY23,500/mt and JPY22,500/mt, respectively.
Tokyo Steel announced its finished product prices for February deliveries, keeping prices flat for a fourth successive month.
For February, the price for steel bars, including rebar, will remain at JPY62,000/mt ($563/mt), and the price for H-shaped beams will remain at JPY83,000/mt ex-plant producer, unchanged since mid-October.
Bids from steel mills for #2 HMS scrap in Taiwan and Vietnam were in the range of JPY25,000-25,500/mt fob Japan, but sellers refrained from making any offers this week at these levels.
South Korea
South Korean containerised ferrous scrap import prices fell by $10-15/mt from the prior week, as supply increased from the US and European scrap yards.
The offers for US origin HMS1&2 (80:20) mixed scrap in bulk cargo fell in the range $290-295/mt cfr South Korea, down $10/mt from the prior week.
A major steel mill is under negotiation for bulk cargo, but no confirmation was not received till publication of this article.
It was earlier expected that Hyundai Steel would lower its bids for Japanese scrap purchase, but it suspended its purchases for yet another week given its higher inventories in hand. Bids for #2 HMS remained unchanged at JPY26,500/mt fob Japan.
($1=KRW1158.26; $1=JPY109.9)