Weekly round-up: Ferrous scrap prices head south on global steel downturn

Ferrous scrap prices continued to witness a downfall in general throughout this week. Turkish buyers remained largely inactive as only a few bookings were seen. Tokyo Steel and Shagang Steel announced further price cuts. South Asian mills were active in booking bulk cargoes on lower offers to India and Bangladesh.

• Turkiye imported scrap prices fall to nearly two-year low: Turkish steel producers and buyers seem to have become a lot less active in the imported scrap market. The weak downstream steel sector and negative sentiments in the domestic market kept scrap buyers on the sidelines. SteelMint's price assessment for USA-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) is at $325/t CFR basis, registering a sharp drop of over $60/t w-o-w. Prices are hovering at nearly two-years low.
  
  

Recently, a cargo containing a total of 22,000 t of scrap (19,500 t HMS 75:25 and 2,500 t bonus) of Europe-origin was traded at an average price of $318/t, CFR Turkey.

• Tokyo Steel's price revisions this week: Tokyo Steel, Japan's largest EAF steelmaker, cut scrap purchase prices up to JPY 2,000/t ($15/t) for all of its steelworks this week. Post-revision, the bid prices for H2 scrap are at JPY 54,000/t ($401/t) delivered to the Tahara plant and JPY 53,000/t ($389/t) delivered to the Utsunomiya plant.
  
  
• Japanese scrap export offers hit 5-month low: Japanese scrap export trades remained slow for yet another week. Despite the drop in offers, buyers are still out of the Japanese market due to disparity in bids and offers. Offers hit a five-month low. Meanwhile, there were no bids from major buyers like South Korea, Vietnam and Bangladesh this week.
  
  

SteelMint's assessment for Japanese H2 scrap export prices stood at JPY 50,500/t ($374/t) FOB, down by JPY 1,500/t ($11/t)w-o-w.

• Shagang Steel lowers scrap prices thrice this week: China's Shagang Jiangsu Steel cut scrap procurement prices thrice this week by a total of RMB 320/t ($48/t) for all grades. After the revision, prices of HMS (6-10mm) are at RMB 3,400/t ($507/t) delivered to headquarters, including 13% VAT.
  
  
• Vietnam imported scrap offers fall further: Vietnam's imported scrap market was mostly silent due to heavy rain in many parts of the country. However, major mills managed to conclude bulk bookings at discounted prices. Imported scrap prices dropped further for two Baltic bulk cargoes bookings done last week.
  
  

Current offers for bulk US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) are at $405/t CFR levels, down by over $35/t w-o-w.

• Pakistan's imported scrap prices at 16-month low: Pakistan's imported scrap trade maintained its slow pace with the global market collapsing since last week. Meanwhile, following the global price downtrend, imported scrap prices to Pakistan fell to a 16-month low. However, the absence of Turkish scrap buyers, high currency exchange rate and increased electricity tariffs slowed down trade activity.
  
  

Fresh offers for UK-origin shredded material in containers are now at $425/t CFR levels.

• Bangladesh imported scrap offers drop: The imported scrap market in Bangladesh is yet to witness a new round bookings despite the continued downtrend in offers. Containerised imported scrap prices into Bangladesh have fallen to a 14-month low. However, mills are holding back bookings. Fresh UK-origin containerised shredded scrap is being quoted at $455-460/t CFR, down over $30-35/t w-o-w.
  
  
• India imported scrap market active in bulk booking: Containerised scrap market in India remained lull. Interestingly, Indian imported scrap buyers returned to bulk cargoes within a week as offers fell in another round of bookings. Around 40,000 t of shredded, PNS and busheling was booked from an Europe based supplier at an average price of $395/t CFR Chennai. The cargo is for July shipment.
  
  

Nearly three bulk scrap cargo bookings were reported this week. SteelMint's assessment of Europe-origin shredded scrap prices in containers stood at $430-35/t CFR Nhava Sheva, down by $5-10/t w-o-w.