Weekly round-up: Global ferrous scrap market southwards

Turkey's imported scrap prices hit over a three-month low. Tokyo Steel and Shagang Steel announced two consecutive price cuts this week. Kanto scrap export tender of this month remained inconclusive due to lower bids. Demand from India remained tepid as there is still room for further fall in prices. Bangladesh resumed bulk bookings and Pakistan market regained momentum after the holidays.

• Turkey imported scrap prices drop to over 3-month low: The market remained silent at the beginning of the week. Mills kept insisting on lower levels amid a sharp correction in the finished steel sector. However, the silence in the county's market was broken with a deal from the UK done at a significantly lower price. An Aegean region-based steel mill bought UK-origin 20,000 t of HMS 1&2 (80:20) bulk cargo at $480/t CFR.
  
  

SteelMint's assessment for the US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) is now at $485/t CFR levels, down by further $50-60/t w-o-w. Prices have come down to over a three-month low. Few sources claim that prices have bottomed out and may rebound from these levels.

• Kanto scrap tender inconclusive: Japan's monthly Kanto Tetsugen ferrous scrap export tender for May 2022 was conducted on 11 May. Lower bids from participants resulted in the tender remaining inconclusive. The drop in bids from Vietnam, falling global scrap prices and absence of firm bids from South Korea have Japanese scrap prices under pressure. Due to Japan's Golden Week, it was difficult to have feasible bids.
  
  

Additionally, Japanese Yen depreciated to nearly 20-year low. Currently, JPY is being traded at 130.02 against the dollar.

• Vietnam's imported scrap demand subdued: Imported scrap prices into Vietnam continued to decline. Demand from buyers and end-users was limited due to subdued steel demand in the domestic market and lack of price clarity in the overseas markets amidst holidays.
  
  

SteelMint's assessment for bulk H2 stood at $510/t CFR levels, down by $40/t against the price recorded on 9 May.

• Tokyo Steel cuts scrap buy prices twice this week: Tokyo Steel cut scrap buying prices twice this week, by a total of JPY 2,500/t ($19/t) for all its steelworks. After the latest revision, bid price for H2 scrap was set at JPY 62,000/t ($482/t) delivered to Tahara, while prices for Utsunomiya were at JPY 63,000/t ($490/t).
  
  

• Shagang Steel lowers scrap prices by $16/t: China's Shagang Jiangsu Steel reduced scrap procurement prices twice this week. The company reduced prices by RMB 100/t ($16/t) for all grades. Post two revisions, prices of HMS (6-10mm) stood at RMB 3,920/t ($577/t) delivered to headquarters, including 13% VAT.
  
  
• Pakistan imported scrap prices hit 5-month low: Pakistan's steel and imported scrap market resumed this week after a pause last week owing to the Eid holidays. The market was mostly quiet in the last two weeks, amid Ramadan which resulted in limited working hours and labour shortage. However, mills booked few quantities towards the week end.
  
  

Offers for shredded in containers moved down to $40-50/t to $535-540/t CFR Port Qasim basis, hitting a 5-month low, as per SteelMint's assessment.

• Bangladeshi mills resume bulk booking: Imported scrap market in Bangladesh regained momentum after the Eid holidays with three bulk scrap bookings made by a couple of leading steel mills throughout the week.
  
  

Around 32,000 t of US-origin mixed bulk (shredded and bonus) cargo was booked for June shipment at $530/t CFR Chittagong. Japan continues to remain out of reach of Bangladeshi mills for bulk cargo bookings and hence they are preferring other cost-effective substitutes. However, the sharp depreciation in BDT has kept market sentiments subdued.

Price indications for UK-origin shredded in containers stood at $560/t CFR levels, down by a further $35-40/t w-o-w.

• Currency depreciation impacts India's trade activities: India's imported scrap prices fell further this week with very few bookings recorded. The steep currency depreciation and sharp volatility in global scrap prices kept trade activities limited. Indian Rupee (INR) depreciated to 77.48 versus dollar ($) against 76.9 levels seen a week ago.
  
  

Participants believe that global suppliers could not hold much now and are ready to sell their material at low prices. A few buyers were holding back in anticipation of a further price correction.

Price indications for UK-origin shredded in containers were assessed at around $540-545/t CFR levels, down by around $50/t w-o-w. Deals remained absent.