Vietnam: Imported scrap offers up further, but trade yet to pick up

Vietnam's imported scrap market is mostly silent after the recently concluded Japanese bellwether Kanto Tetsugen scrap export tender concluded this month. The imported scrap market is largely quiet in the absence of steelmakers and buyers. However, offers continued to rise further due to material scarcity.

Additionally, materials from other origins, like the US and UK are mostly sold out for December shipments, considering the upcoming winter holidays, along with active procurement from Turkiye amid inadequate stocks.

• Assessments for US-origin bulk offers are now at $390-395/t CFR levels, moving up by around $10/t w-o-w. However, buyers are yet to resume bulk cargo bookings due to disparities in bids and offers.
  
  
• SteelMint's assessment for Japanese H2 material is at $400/t CFR levels, moving up by $20/t w-o-w. Prices went up after the Kanto scrap export tender.
  
  

Around 13,000 t of scrap was awarded, and the average price for H2 scrap stood at around JPY 47,568/t ($349/t) FAS in the Kanto Tetsugen tender, SteelMint learnt from sources.

In the month under review, the deals concluded were in three small slots, out of which the second and third were of 5,000 t each and were concluded at JPY 47,610/t FAS ($350/t) and JPY 47,442/t FAS ($349/t), respectively. Both were booked by Vietnamese mills. The highest bid was awarded for just 3,000 t at JPY 47,710/t ($351/t) FAS to a Taiwanese steel mill.

Further, billet export offers inched up as a few blast furnace grades increased by around $5/t compared to last week and hovered at $520/t FOB. However, no active deals have been reported so far for current offers.

A recent MoU between Vietnam Electricity and European Investment Bank (EIB) could be the supportive factor for increased local finished steel demand. This could translate into higher supplies to the electrical project segment, including production, transmission, distribution and retail, as well as energy transition, said a scrap importer.

Overview of other South East Asian markets

• Thailand: Australia-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) is being offered at $350/t CFR, whereas Central American HMS 1&2 (7:30) is being offered at $315/t CFR.
  
  
• Malaysia: Imported shredded 211 material from Australia and New Zealand was at $380-390/t CFR. However, trade is yet to pick up.