Japan: Nagoya ferrous scrap market remains weak

In the Nagoya steel scrap market scrap prices for H2 grade stood in the range of JPY 35,000/t to 36,000/t, light-generation steel scrap remained weak and relatively stable. During the joint export bidding conducted by the Kanto Railway Source last week, bids were approximately JPY 1,000/t lower than the previous round. In response to this, entities like Daido Steel's Chita Plant reduced their purchase prices. Tokyo Steel, on the other hand, maintained its bid price as of 17 March 2023, leading to mixed responses from electric furnaces.

While new export contracts continued to face a challenging environment, the market experiences limited activity. Some electric furnaces have increased production for the current month, making it difficult for them to offer bids lower than the prevailing prices to secure supply.

Export supply and demand remained subdued, but the market benefitted from some level of domestic demand, which provides support to the overall situation.

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