Imported scrap trades slow-down in Vietnam, buyers await further price correction

• Global scrap prices dipped further for another week
  
  
• Vietnam's ferrous scrap import hit an eight-year high in CY'20
  
  
• Scrap procurement partially stops in Indonesia and Thailand
  
  

Global scrap prices continued to dip for yet another week, registering limited trades at current price levels. Buyers are expecting prices to drop further before the Lunar New Year. With the current downturn in scrap prices, Vietnamese buyers remain cautious in booking new cargo. However, trades in small quantities continued at low-level prices.

A Vietnamese steelmaker has booked Japanese H2 bulk scrap cargo towards the closing of the last week. Around 3,000 t of Japanese H2 has been booked at $435/t CFR Vietnam basis, reliable sources have reported to SteelMint. Prices have come down by $15/t w-o-w.

SteelMint assessment for Japanese H2 bulk offers stands at $420-425/t CFR Vietnam basis. Although prices have remained unchanged as compared to the closing of the last week, prices have significantly dropped by $30-35/t against the opening of the week.

SteelMint's assessment for USA origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) stands at $440/t CFR Vietnam level, registering a sharp drop of over $40/t w-o-w.

Japan's domestic scrap prices follow global cues- Pursuing the global price, Japan's leading EAF mill- Tokyo Steel has cut its scrap purchase price further by up to JPY 2,000/t ($19) at two of its works, effective from tomorrow (26th Jan'21). The company would now pay JPY 41,000/t ($395) for Tahara plant (Central Japan) and JPY 36,000/t ($347) for Utsunomiya works in the Kanto region. Notably, this is the company's fourth price cut for Utsunomiya plant, so far, in Jan'21.

Vietnam's ferrous scrap import hit an eight-year high in CY'20- SE Asia's largest ferrous scrap importer- Vietnam has observed a sharp rise of 40% m-o-m to 0.73 mn t in Dec'20. Notably, the country has hit an eight-year high scrap import in CY'20. It imported 5.85 mn t in CY'20, up by 13% y-o-y from 5.2 mn t in CPLY. Japan stood the biggest supplier with a share of 58% in total scrap imported to Vietnam with a volume of 3.4mn t in CY'20.

Indonesia scrap market observes limited trades- Indonesian steel mills stopped procuring scrap last week, due to the downtrend of prices in the scrap market. However, few deals concluded at a workable price.

Indicative offers price-

• PNS: $460/t CFR Jakarta
  
  
• Busheling: $470/t CFR Jakarta
  
  
• HMS1: $450/t CFR Jakarta
  
  

Mills postpone their booking in Thailand- Many steel mills in Thailand have postponed their buying partly, due to the upcoming Chinese New Year and various fluctuations in the market. Central America's HMS 1&2 (80:20) is now standing at $370-380/t CFR Thailand levels. No bulk bookings have been reported recently.