South Korea: Ferrous scrap inventory at steel mills drops 8% w-o-w

Scrap inventories with South Korean steelmakers are on the decline. This week, steel scrap holdings of eight steelmakers totaled 896,000 tonnes (t), down 76,000 t or 8% from last week. It is the first time in seven weeks since mid-March that inventory has fallen below 900,000 t.

The 8% drop in inventory is the highest this year. In the market, there is a chance that the price will fall as steelmakers' inventories are reducing in May as is stocking volume.

In particular, the decrease in inventory with steelmakers in the southern region is remarkable.

Region-wise scrap inventory:

• Southern region: Total inventory with steelmakers in the southern region is assessed at 355,000 t, down 10% from last week. The fall in inventory at Hyundai Steel's Pohang Plant was the most noticeable in the southern region. For a week, Hyundai Steel's Pohang plant saw inventory falling by more than 25%. POSCO's inventory was also down 5% from last week.Other steelmakers' inventory did not move considerably from last week, albeit decline in Pohang resulting in a decrease in inventory in the southern region.
  
  
• Central region: Steelmakers' inventory in the central region was 541,000 t, down 6% from the previous week. At Hyundai Steel's Incheon facility and Hwanyeong Steel, inventories fell by roughly 10%. Dongkuk Steel's inventory dropped a bit from last week, but it was less than 1%.
  
  
• Metropolitan region: "Since the end of last year and the beginning of this year, imports have been steadily brought in, and considering the current inventory situation, it is difficult to see a shortage of scrap," a steelmaker source in the metropolitan region said.
  
  

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