Taiwan
Taiwanese mills have halted purchases due to a continued rise in offer prices. With finished steel prices rising at a slower pace than raw material, lower-priced domestic scrap trades could pick up this week.
The Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Monday, rose by $13/mt from Friday to $361/mt cfr Taiwan.
Feng Hsin raised finished steel sales prices by TWD700/mt and domestic ferrous scrap purchase prices this week by TWD600/mt, amid strong global cues. The mill’s base offers for rebar were at TWD16,700-16,800/mt ex-works southern and northern mills.
The Davis Index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) in Turkey rose by $10/mt on Friday from Dec 10, lifting global ferrous scrap prices, including in Taiwan.
Japan
Japan’s domestic scrap prices rose by around $14/mt on Monday.
Tokyo Steel announced a sixth price hike in December, with the latest bid levels effective Dec 15. After the revision, purchase prices increased by JPY1,500/mt ($14/mt) for all five works. Revised bids for #2 HMS were at JPY37,000/mt del Okayama, JPY34,500/mt del plant Kyushu, JPY39,000/mt ($376/mt) del Tahara, JPY34,500/mt del Takamatsu, and JPY34,500/mt del plant Utsunomiya.
South Korean steel mill Hyundai also raised bids for Japanese scrap, after which prices for #2 HMS were at JPY40,000/mt cfr South Korea. Market participants believe prices could rise further.
The steelmaker is likely to raise product prices to pass on the increase in raw material costs to end-users in domestic and overseas markets.
($1=JPY103.8)