South Korea’s Hyundai Steel bid for Japanese HS at JPY29,500/mt ($279.62/mt) fob and JPY32,500 ($308.05/mt) cfr South Korea. Bids for Busheling (shindachi), P&S 5ft and shredded were at JPY29,500/mt fob South Korea as a shortage of scrap in Japan’s domestic market pushed up tender prices.
The Davis Index for containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $265/mt cfr South Korea, up by $11/mt from the week prior and $15/mt from July 29, on global cues and domestic scrap shortage. Mills booked limited volumes as they awaited Kanto tender results to gauge price direction. Market participants expect a further rise in Japanese scrap export prices as domestic scrap rose by JPY1,000 on Wednesday.
South American suppliers offered HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $250-255/mt, up by $5-10/mt from the prior week but Korean importers focused on lower-priced Russian bulk scrap and domestic scrap to avoid higher offers. The index for US-origin shredded and P&S 5ft rose by $7/mt and $6 to $276/mt cfr, respectively, with no trades heard.
The weekly index for containerized #1 HMS rose by $4/mt to $263/mt cfr from the prior week and up by $8/mt from Aug 5. Many traders expected prices to soften as Turkish Index fell by $1.25/mt to $283.25/mt on Friday and maintained similar levels on Monday and Tuesday. However, Wednesday’s Kanto tender witnessed higher prices as a result of domestic scrap shortage and forecast of strong finish steel demand in the South East Asian region.
Taiwan
US-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) index settled flat at $261/mt cfr Taiwan on Wednesday. Offers for the same were at $265/mt, while Korean importers stayed away from bookings ahead of Kanto tender.
Offers for South American HMS 1&2 (80:20) were at $250-255/mt cfr. Demand for finished steel continued to be under pressure, but manufacturers believe steel trades will rise in September as indicated by the higher bids placed in Kanto tender.
($1=JPY105.5)