US West Coast dockside ferrous scrap prices were rangebound after falling by about $10/gt last week, following gains across the three West Coast docks this week.
Portland docks reduced their prices after a drop in domestic scrap prices in the August ferrous scrap market but gave a few dollars back this week. San Francisco and Los Angeles docks followed suit where larger volumes for P&S 5ft gained during the week’s transactions.
The Davis Index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) fell by $1.66/mt to $461.94/mt cfr Turkey on Tuesday from $463.60/mt cfr on Aug 3. While export inquiries on bulk containers point to lower transactions compared to the previous month, market participants report that docks anticipate importing mills will book bulk scrap due to the tight container market and COVID-19 economic shutdowns in Asia over the past month. Recovering economic activity, improved steel prices, and limited domestic supply is also expected to aid this decision.
Moreover, while seasonal scrap inventories have slightly increased in the US, excessive scrap supply is not being reported along the coast. Demand from domestic mills along the Pacific Northwest, and Central US regions, and Mexico is also pulling scrap from the West Coast.
Japan’s weekly domestic scrap prices trended flat with low collection volumes due to the ongoing holiday. Market participants express uncertainty over Japan’s price movements but note that South Korea and Taiwan’s domestic scrap prices are mostly trending unchanged. In China, scrap and semi-finished steel imports may increase following the announced production cuts to meet emission standards for H2 2021. Still, even if Chinese buys do not materialize, the scrap market is not expected to drop substantially as it is supported by high finished steel prices and continued economic stimulus packages both domestically and abroad.
The weekly Davis Indexes in Portland for export yard scrap were unchanged for #1 HMS and shredder feed at $383/gt delivered and $289/mt delivered export yard, respectively. P&S 5ft fell only by $1/gt to $404/gt as some docks sought to reduce buying prices but others paid more in some deals as they sought inventories.
The San Francisco weekly Davis Index for #1 HMS trended flat at $385/gt delivered while P&S 5ft rose by $2/gt to $400/gt delivered and shredder feed climbed by $3/gt to $288/gt delivered.
In Los Angeles, the Davis Index for #1 HMS contracted by $1/gt to $340/gt delivered but P&S 5ft climbed by $3/gt to $353/gt delivered as the dock sought to attract larger volume transactions. Shredder feed continued flat at $254/gt delivered.