Weekly round-up: Global ferrous scrap prices continue downtrend
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Global ferrous scrap prices continued trending down due to sluggish trade activities in markets like Turkiye, India, Japan, and Bangladesh.
Turkiye, the market price setter in global scrap, saw a few deals getting concluded this week from Europe at much lower prices. Demand in the key South Asian nations like India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan are yet to pick up after the Eid holidays.
Japan's Tokyo Steel reduced purchase prices of scrap following the downward movement in the domestic market after Shagang Steel slashed scrap bids for the second time this week. Japan's scrap export prices continued to trend lower following the continuous reduction in bids by Hyundai.
Turkiye: Turkish imported scrap prices declined to a four-month low on limited trade activities amid slower finished long steel exports during the Eid holidays. Also, the domestic market remained subdued with slow offtake, according to sources.
SteelMint's daily assessment for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from the US stood at $403/t CFR Turkiye, down $20-23/t w-o-w.
India: The Indian imported scrap market was impacted by the sluggish finished steel market. There were limited offers in the market as sellers forwarded offers to India owing to limited buying interest in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Further, finished steel demand remained lacklustre due to sluggish global sentiments, a market watcher said. As a result, prices trended lower. Indian buyers are looking for discounts and bid $5-$10/t lower for European shredded scrap. However, no deals were concluded at these prices.
SteelMint's assessment for imported shredded scrap in containers stood at $445/t CFR, down $13/t w-o-w.
Bangladesh: The Bangladesh market is yet to pick up after the Eid holidays. Trade channel sources informed that negotiations were absent amid lack of buying interest, especially for containerised scrap cargoes.
UK deals are not happening nowadays due to lack of interest from Bangladeshi buyers and offers from Australia and the US are at $470/t for shredded.
Pakistan: Pakistan's market remained closed during the weekend due to the Eid-al-Fitr holidays. Some market players are likely to stay away for the week. Fewer enquiries were heard as scrap buyers waited for market clarity. A lone deal was heard this week for around 2,000 t of shredded scrap from Europe on a CFR Qasim basis.
Bearish domestic market sentiments, increased electricity charges, and an unstable currency exchange rate weighed on the steel market and scrap demand.
Japan: Japanese ferrous scrap export offers fell to a four-month low on limited demand. Japan's scrap export market witnessed a slight slowdown in prices w-o-w due to limited bids from overseas buyers like South Korea and Vietnam. Followed by Tokyo Steel ferrous scrap bid price reduction by JPY 1,000/t ($7/t) for Utsunomiya plant and by JPY 1,500/t ($11/t) for the other two plants amid sluggish downstream demand.
SteelMint's assessment for Japanese H2 scrap prices stands at JPY 47,000- 48,000/t FOB, down JPY 1,500-2,000/t w-o-w, on limited trades. Prices have fallen to a four-month low.
South Korea: Hyundai Steel slashed Japanese scrap bids by up to $7/t. Bids for H2 scrap stand at JPY 47,800/t ($351/t) FOB and those for HS grade are at JPY 51,300/t ($376/t) FOB. The company continues to trim prices amid lower domestic prices. This is the fourth successive reduction since March.
China: Shagang Steel reduced ferrous scrap purchase prices twice this week by RMB 150/t ($22/t) for all grades. After the revision, HMS (6-10 mm) prices are at RMB 2,870/t ($415/t), delivered to headquarters.
Vietnam: Vietnam's imported scrap market remained subdued with no trading activities reported last week. Imported prices for deep sea bulk scrap declined further. Bearish market sentiments and falling domestic scrap prices remained the major reasons for the price decline.
Indicative offers for US-origin 80:20 bulk were at $415-420/t CFR, but there was negligible buying interest. Japanese H2 scrap was assessed at $405-410/t CFR.
