South Korea: Ferrous scrap inventory falls slightly amid price cuts and stock control

• Steel scrap inventories drop, cold weather to slow rebar sales
  
  
• Korea Special Steel, Dongkuk steel see inventory gains
  
  

SteelDaily: This week, the combined ferrous scrap inventory of eight major South Korean steel mills saw a slight decrease, staying below 800,000 tonnes (t) for the second consecutive week. The marginal drop is likely attributed to price cuts and stock management earlier in the week.

Stocks were down marginally by 0.3% to 784,000 tonnes (t), compared to the previous week's 787,000 t.

Inventory levels in both the central and southern regions experienced minor fluctuations, with notable differences between factories.

Region-wise inventory

Central region: In the central region, scrap inventory increased slightly by 0.7% w-o-w to 421,000 t.

In terms of companies, Dongkuk Steel's inventory increased by 4% compared to last week, while Hyundai Steel's Incheon and Dangjin plants kept their inventory unchanged. Hwanyang Steel, on the other hand, saw a 5% drop in inventory compared to previous week.

Southern region: In the southern region, inventory levels decreased by 1.6% at 363,000 t, down from the previous week. Hyundai Steel's Pohang plant saw stable inventory levels w-o-w, while POSCO's inventory decreased by 8% compared to the previous week.

The combined inventories of Daehan Steel and YK Steel increased by 1.5% w-o-w, while Korea Iron and Steel's inventory increased by 16% compared to the previous week.

In addition, Korea Special Steel's inventory increased by 10% compared to last week.

A market participant stated, "While inventory levels have remained steady for three weeks, they are expected to decline further with the approaching winters."

Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between SteelDaily and BigMint.