South Korea: Ferrous scrap inventory remains largely stable w-o-w

• Inventory rises 1.4% in the southern region
  
  
• Central region witnesses a nearly 2% drop
  
  

SteelDaily: This week, the combined ferrous scrap inventory of eight major South Korean steel mills declined slightly by 0.4% to 721,000 tonnes (t), down from 724,000 t last week, primarily due to a significant decrease in the central region.

Inventory levels decrease in the central region, while steel mills in the southern region saw an increase in inventories.

Region-wise inventory

Central region: In the central region, scrap inventory decreased by 1.9% w-o-w to 407,000 t.

Hyundai Steel's Incheon plant reported a 0.8% increase in inventory compared to the previous week. In contrast, Hwanyang Steel experienced a significant 14% decrease, Dongkuk Steel's inventory dropped by 4%, and Dangjin Steel's inventory levels remained unchanged w-o-w.

Southern region: In the southern region, inventory levels rose by 1.4% from the previous week to 345,000 t. Daehan Steel, POSCO, and Hyundai Steel's Pohang plant maintained their inventory levels, while POSCO recorded an 11% w-o-w decrease.

YK Steel's inventory declined by 3% w-o-w, Korea Special Steel dropped by 2%, while Korea Iron and Steel's inventory increased by 20% compared to the previous week, attributed to slow depletion caused by facility maintenance.

A market participant stated, "The product market is worsening, with rebar prices recently dropping significantly. As a result, it is expected that the operating rate will continue to decrease in the future."

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