Mills in Taiwan, Vietnam, and Indonesia raised bids to match rising offers but failed to bridge the gap between offers and bids.
Taiwan
The Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Thursday, rose by $1/mt to $436/mt cfr Taiwan with bids catching up to rising offers. US-based exporters raised offers to $440/mt in anticipation of a rise in finished steel demand and firm Turkish buying. The index rose by $7/mt from the prior week (Feb 25).
Taiwanese mills booked US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $430/mt cfr this week. Offers for Japanese HMS 1&2 (50:50) rose to $460/mt cfr, up $25/mt from the prior week on rising domestic scrap prices in Japan and higher bids by South Korean mill. Hyundai raised bids by JPY4,000/mt fob on Thursday. Amid a global and domestic short supply of scrap, mills are expected to raise bids next week, while low inventory forced some buyers to resume procurement this week.
The weekly Davis Indexes for containerized P&S 5ft, #1 HMS, shredded and #1 busheling rose by by $10/mt, $2/mt, $7/mt and $6/mt $470/mt cfr, $446/mt cfr, $456/mt cfr, and $476/mt cfr, respectively. Mills have turned cautious amid a rise in offers for Japanese and US ferrous scrap. Few deals for oversized P&S from Hong Kong heard at $445/mt cfr in the earlier part of the week with mills preferring shorter transit scrap.
Vietnam
Vietnamese mills have raised bids but still prefer to buy bulk scrap due to a short supply of empty containers. Deals for Japanese #2 HMS heard at $450-452/mt cfr, HS at $480-490/mt cfr, shredded at $463/mt cfr and Shindachi at $496/mt cfr this week. Offers rose further on global cues.
Vietnamese mills were cautiously checking Turkish and Chinese purchases. Deals for 3,000mt South Korean scrap heard at $495-498/mt cfr China. Deals for HS heard at $500-510/mt cfr China. Turkey index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose on Wednesday by $7/mt to $464.5/mt from Tuesday.
USWC bulk offers on HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose to $460/mt cfr from $440/mt the week prior.
In the containers market, the weekly index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) Thursday settled flat at $439/mt cfr Vietnam from the prior week. Vietnamese mills bid at $430/mt, while offers remained at $435-440/mt.
The weekly index for P&S 5ft and shredded rose by $11/mt and $6/mt, to $475/mt cfr and $460/mt cfr, respectively, on Thursday, amid rising offers. A deal for busheling from Europe heard early in the week at $459/mt cfr.
In bulk, offers for Hong Kong HMS 1&2 (50:50) rose by $25-30/mt to $460/mt from the prior week, while bids at $440/mt cfr.
Indonesia
Indonesian mills limited bookings amid rising offers. Buyers are cautious of new bookings as many yards are still processing export registration. Traders said that rising freight rates and limited scrap offers from the US have made imports unviable. Many mills are preferring Hong Kong oversized P&S with deals heard at $453/mt cfr this week.
The weekly Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose by $10/mt to $445/mt cfr Jakarta from the week prior. Limited deals heard as offers kept rising to $450-460/mt cfr.
The indexes for P&S 5ft and shredded rose by $15/mt and $16 to $478/mt cfr and $471/mt cfr Jakarta, respectively. Offers for US origin P&S 5ft rose to $500-510/mt, while bids were at $460-475/mt cfr. Many traders indicated that bids are not able to catch up with offers, therefore, most mills are preferring ferrous scrap from Malaysia and Hong Kong.
The weekly Davis Index for #1 busheling rose by $21/mt to $490/mt cfr on offer at $510/mt cfr.
Japan
Tokyo Steel raised domestic scrap bids by JPY1,000/mt ($9.3/mt) at Tahara and Utsunomiya, while increased bid by JPY500/mt for the other three plants. This is a second raise in the first week of March. Tokyo Steel’s bids for #2 HMS were at JPY42,500/mt ($396/mt) del Tahara, JPY41,500/mt del Okayama, JPY41,000/mt del Kyushu, JPY40,500/mt del Takamatsu, and JPY42,500/mt del Utsunomiya.
South Korean mill Hyundai raised its bid for Japanese scrap by JPY3,000-4,000/mt($28-37/mt) from the last bids on Feb 18. The new bids were at #2 HMS at JPY43,500/mt($405/mt) fob, HMS 1&2 (50:50) at JPY44,000/mt fob, Shredded at JPY47,500/mt fob,HS at JPY48,500/mt fob and Shindachi(busheling) at JPY48,500/mt fob.
($1=JPY107)