Turkish steel mills book several deals for August shipments - Turkish importers turned active this week as soon as offer levels got pressurized in the global market. Prices moved down by USD 8-10/MT on W-o-W basis. According to SteelMint’s price assessment, USA origin HMS (80:20) scrap stands at around USD 340-342/MT, CFR Turkey.
In most recent deal heard, USA supplier sold 50,000 MT cargo to a steel producer based in Iskenderun region comprising 25,000 MT Shredded and 25,000 MT HMS 1&2 (90:10) at an average price of USD 350.5/MT,CFR Turkey.
Most of the steel mills are waiting for improvement in the finish steel demand from USA and East Asian importers, clarity on European quota regulations and strengthening of currency in upcoming days.
Hyundai Steel keeps bid price unchanged for Japanese scrap - South Korea’s leading EAF steelmaker - Hyundai Steel has kept bids for all grades of Japanese scrap unchanged this week. H2 bid assessed stable at Japanese Yen 33,000/MT (USD 294) FoB Japan since last four weeks. Bids for medium grade scrap like HS and Shredded stands at JPY 38,000/MT (USD 338) and for high-grade scrap Shindachi Daichibara (SB) at JPY 41,000/MT (USD 365), FoB Japan. JPY depreciated by 2% against USD in a week’s time. USD/JPY rate stands at 112.4 today as against 110.2 last week.
South Korean steel mills cut domestic scrap prices - South Korean leading steelmakers like Hyundai, Dongkuk, Daehan, YK and SeAH Steel have cut domestic scrap prices by KRW 10,000-15,000/MT (USD 10-14) this week amid ample inventories and dull finish steel demand.
Japan’s Tokyo Steel raises scrap purchase price upto USD 9/MT – Japan`s leading EAF mini-mill - Tokyo Steel has raised purchase prices for domestic scrap delivered to three of its plants located in South Western Japan. As per new circular effective from today, Tokyo steel fetches H2 scrap at JPY 32,500/MT levels at Okayama (up JPY 1000/MT) and Kyushu plants (up JPY 500/MT) in Western Japan while for its Takamatsu Steel Center company keeps bid at JPY 32,000/MT (up JPY 1000/MT). Prices remained stable at JPY 35,500/MT (USD 322) for its Kanto region based works i.e. Utsunomiya and at JPY 35,000/MT for largest works in central Japan-Tahara.
On improving demand from major importing countries, Japanese sellers have increased their export offers from Gulf regions. Average H2 scrap export offers from Japanese suppliers gauged in the range of JPY 34,500-35,500/MT, FoB for Kanto and gulf regions in Japan.
Indian scrap importers turn silent on seasonal slowdown – Sharp fall in domestic semi-finish steel prices, dull finish steel demand, considerable scrap inventories in hand and cheaper availability of domestic scrap kept buyers away from booking imported scrap again this week. The disparity between price expectations of importers and offers from sellers kept everyone in ‘Wait and Watch’ mode despite sharp fall in prices.
Price assessment of Shredded from UK and USA stands at around USD 375-378/MT, CFR Nhava Sheva. While offers for HMS 1&2 (80:20) have come down by USD 8-12/MT on W-o-W basis. UAE origin offers assessed at USD 340-345/MT while HMS 1 assessed at around USD 345-350/MT, CFR. West African HMS assessed at USD 320-325/MT, CFR Nhava Sheva. Hardly any trade deal has confirmed as no buyer was interested at these levels. Scrap bookings may not resume actively for next 3-4 weeks until global markets get corrected further.
Domestic scrap prices have continued downtrend since 4-5 weeks amid record low semi finish prices in last 6 months. Domestic scrap remains a preference over imported for most of the steelmakers. Currently, HMS (80:20) basic prices assessed at INR 24,300-24,500/MT (down INR 400 W-o-W) in Mumbai, while INR 23,400-23,700/MT (down INR 600 W-o-W) in Chennai, GST @ 18% extra.
Taiwan scrap importers remain active for scrap restocking; prices remain unchanged - Imported scrap prices in Taiwan remain stable on W-o-W amid steady demand from buyers. Price assessment for US origin HMS (80:20) stood at USD 335-340/MT, CFR. Offers from US suppliers stood around USD 340-345/MT, CFR
Pakistan imported scrap prices tumble down; limited activities reported – In recent deals, UK shredded sold at USD 370-375/MT levels in Pakistan. Few offers for USA Shredded heard in the market at USD 367-370/MT, CFR. Importers are showing interest at these levels as sellers are less likely to offer below current levels. Few buyers are still waiting for clarity on global trends. Price assessment for HMS 1&2 (80:20) scrap from Dubai moved down at around USD 350-355/MT, CFR Qasim. Also, Domestic rebar, billets and scrap prices moved down further by PKR 500-1000/MT W-o-W.
Bangladesh importers continued scrap bookings at declining prices – In recent trade deals, Shredded 211 scrap from USA and UK sold in the range of USD 387-392/MT, CFR Chittagong. SteelMint`s price assessment edged down on W-o-W basis as buying interest remained decent amid weak finish steel demand over seasonal slowdown. Local markets for scrap, billet and rebar remain almost flat W-o-W in Bangladesh.
P&S scrap assessed at USD 390-393/MT, CFR from Brazil while offers for HMS scrap have moved down by USD 5-7/MT W-o-W from UAE and Europe. HMS 1 sold at around USD 375/MT, CFR Chittagong. HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Europe and UK sold in small quantities at around USD 360-365/MT, CFR. Ship breaking market witnessed dull sentiments with prices edge down by USD 5/LDT this week.