Japan: Ferrous scrap market continues to see strong price trend in end 2022

Japan's domestic and overseas ferrous scrap markets continue to see a strong price trend towards the end of 2022, as per a Japan Metal Daily report.

Recently, South Korea's Hyundai Steel has presented a bid price for Japanese scrap, which was JPY 1,000/t higher than the previous week.

It is also heard that Tokyo Steel, a leading scrap buyer in Japan, is considering a hike in its purchase price to compete with other steelmakers. With this, the domestic market, which had been falling in November, rebounded in mid-December.

Korean manufacturers and Totetsu are competing for scrap procurement. The purchase price of H2 grade is expected to approach JPY 50,000/y toward the end of the year. The scrap market in Japan was slow in November as a result of the "domestic high and low overseas environment" and continued sluggish exports.

The bid in Kanto Tetsugen scrap export tender for December was concluded at JPY 47,568/t FAS for H2 grade, which was higher than expected. After that, South Korea's Hyundai Steel significantly raised the bid price for Japan scrap. Totetsu followed the suit and raised the bid price by JPY 2,500-3,000/t.

In addition, the outlook for overseas markets has receded, as seen in the fact that export prices of European and USA material to Turkey have peaked. Further, there are limited working days for scrap dealers left in 2022, and shipments of cash sales are expected to increase toward the end of the year.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Japan Metal Daily and SteelMint.