Imported ferrous scrap prices in Asian countries continued their downtrend for a second successive week. Finished steel demand remained low and most steelmakers booked scrap only to meet their usual requirements. Chinese activities gained momentum and are likely to reach pre-COVID-19 levels soon.
South Korea
Hyundai Steel announced its bids for Japanese origin scrap, which is at present priced lower than US bulk cargoes. The steelmaker’s bid for #2 HMS is at JPY22,000/mt fob Japan, down by JPY1,000/mt from late last week trade levels. Bid for HMS12(50:50) is at JPY22,500/mt fob Japan. Bids for shredded, HS(PS) and Busheling scrap were at JPY24,500/mt fob Japan.
Late last week, Hyundai Steel booked Japanese #2 HMS at JPY23,000/mt fob and Dongkuk Steel booked the same grade at JPY22,700/mt fob Japan.
Taiwan
Imported ferrous scrap prices in Taiwan dropped by $5/mt as steel makers lowered their bids on bearish global cues. Seaborne trades were lower compared to last week, though demand for scrap remained healthy.
The weekly Davis Index for containerised US-origin HMS 1&2(80:20) settled at $231/mt cfr Taiwan on Thursday, down by $5/mt. Trades for containerised HMS 1&2 (80:20) concluded at $232-235/mt cfr Taiwan early this week. Prices subsequently fell to $230/mt cfr Taiwan. Major EAF steelmakers’ bids were at $228/mt cfr Taiwan on Thursday.
The weekly Davis Index for containerised shredded settled at $240/mt cfr Taiwan, down by $8/mt. Suppliers offered shredded at $245/mt cfr Taiwan, but deals reported were not at prices higher than $240/mt cfr Taiwan.
A few mills offered a discount of NT$200-300/mt for rebar priced NT$14,400-14,500/mt ex-producer. Mills in Taiwan now wait for finished steel demand to pick up.
Japanese HMS 1&2 (50:50) in small bulk cargoes was offered at $245/mt cfr Taiwan, down by $5-10/mt from the prior week. Japanese #2 HMS was offered at $240/mt cfr Taiwan, with no takers at those levels. On Monday, a mill booked 3,000mt Japanese HMS 1&2 (50:50) at $242/mt cfr Taiwan.
Vietnam
Vietnamese steel mills continued to book ferrous. A few Japanese scrap yards raised bulk cargo offers to buyers in Vietnam by $5-10/mt, but failed to find takers.
A Vietnamese mill offered 4sp billet at $410/mt cfr Vietnam, down by $5/mt from the prior week.
On Wednesday, a mill in northern region booked bulk cargo consisting of 15,000mt #2 HMS from Japan at $255/mt cfr Vietnam. Mills booked Hong Kong origin HMS 1&2 (50:50) at $260/mt cfr Vietnam. Late last week, Japanese #2 HMS in bulk cargoes was offered at $250-255/mt cfr Southern Vietnam and $255-260/mt cfr North Vietnam, unchanged from the prior week. A few mills are waiting for prices to decline further before booking Japanese origin scrap.
Hong Kong origin HMS 1&2 (50:50) in small bulk cargoes traded at $245-250/mt cfr Vietnam, down by $5/mt from the prior week. The weekly index for containerised HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $240/mt cfr Vietnam, down by $5/mt. US origin West coast ferrous scrap yards offered containerised HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $240-245/mt cfr Vietnam and $235-240/mt cfr South Korea this week.
The weekly Davis Index for PS 5ft settled at $262/mt cfr Vietnam, down by $3/mt. Offers for HMS 1&2 (80:20) in bulk cargoes by US West Coast suppliers were unchanged at $270-275/mt cfr Vietnam and that for shredded were at $290/mt cfr Vietnam. But there were no takers at those prices.
Indonesia
Indonesian mills resumed bookings this week as their scrap inventories dipped. Billet prices declined by $10/mt in Southeast Asian markets and pulled ferrous prices down.
The Davis Index for containerised PS 5ft settled at $287/mt cfr Jakarta, down by $6/mt from the prior week. Oversized PS in containers traded at $290/mt cfr Jakarta, though bids were at $280/mt cfr Jakarta.
Offers from Hong Kong-based yards resumed this week after the COVID-19 quarantine ended. Trades of oversized PS from Hong Kong were at $285/mt cfr Jakarta early this week.
Indonesian mill Dexin steel offered 4sp billet at $395/mt cfr Southeast Asia, down by $10/mt from the prior Thursday. Domestic heavy melt scrap was priced at $265/mt del Indonesia mill, down by $5/mt from the prior week.
The weekly index for Busheling settled at $294/mt cfr Jakarta, down by $11/mt. Bids for Busheling dropped to $285-290/mt cfr Jakarta from $305-310/mt cfr Jakarta last week, but suppliers were unwilling to lower their offers.
The Davis Index for containerised shredded settled at $282/mt cfr Jakarta, down by $7/mt from the prior week. Bids for shredded in containers from mills in the northern region were at $275/mt cfr Jakarta. Sellers, however, refused to match those prices.
The Davis Index for containerised HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $250/mt cfr Jakarta, down by $8/mt from the prior week.
($1=JPY103.67; KRW1,206.97; TW$30.11)