South Korea
Prices for containers of imported ferrous scrap rose amid a global shortage of material as well as containers. Demand, however, is still under pressure, and mills opted for domestic material, prices for which were lower than imported scrap. Mills negotiated for Japanese bulk deals late last week.
The weekly Davis Index for containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20), Wednesday, settled at $375/mt cfr South Korea, up by $46/mt, with no deals heard. Offers still rose to $395-405/mt cfr, up by $60-70/mt from the week prior.
The weekly Davis Indexes for P&S 5ft, #1 HMS, and shredded rose by $45/mt, $48/mt, and $41/mt to $401/mt, $383/mt, and $390/mt cfr South Korea, respectively.
Two bulk deals for 60,000mt and 32,000 mt for #2 HMS were heard at JPY40,000/mt($387/mt) fob late last week, after which offers increased further making imports unviable.
South American suppliers offered HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $390-395/mt cfr South Korea on Wednesday with bids at $340-350/mt cfr.
Unable to gauge the price direction, some South Korean mills were undecided on bid levels. They are, therefore, closely watching Turkish ferrous scrap price trends and Japanese domestic offers to assess the scenario. Domestic scrap bids could increase this week as Korean mills may buy from their own markets for immediate scrap requirements.
Taiwan
US exporters raised offers by $30-40/mt on Wednesday. The Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Wednesday, rose by $22/mt to $383/mt cfr Taiwan, the biggest single-day spike in December. Offers were at $400-410/mt cfr with most bids still at $360/mt. Taiwanese mills are uncertain of the uptrend sustaining and stayed away from any buying. An unconfirmed deal was heard at $390/mt, but most traders believe the price seems unlikely.
Another unconfirmed deal was heard at $425/mt cfr. But traders believe deals are not plausible at the level.
($1=JPY103)