Weekly round-up: Global ferrous scrap prices move southwards

Turkey's imported scrap market hit bottom in the recent round of deals. Tokyo Steel and Shagang Steel trimmed scrap purchase prices further in the week. South Korea's major mills resumed bidding for Japanese scrap. South Asia imported scrap trading improved, except India.

• Turkey imported scrap prices fall further: Turkey's imported scrap market was mostly silent this week with only two deals concluded. Meanwhile, finished steel sales improved as domestic sentiments picked up. Recently, Europe-origin HMS (80:20) and bonus cargo were booked by a Mediterranean-based steel mill at $446/t and $471/t CFR Turkey.
  
  

SteelMint's assessment of US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) stood at $455/t CFR levels, down further by $15/t w-o-w.

• Tokyo Steel cuts scrap buy prices by $8/t: Tokyo Steel reduced its scrap purchase prices again this week due to the absence of firm overseas bids. The company cut buying bids by JPY 1,000/t ($8/t) for all steelworks. The bid prices for H2 scrap are at JPY 58,000/t ($456/t) delivered to Tahara and JPY 58,500/t ($460/t) delivered to Utsunomiya works.
  
  

• South Korea's major mills resume Japanese scrap bids: Hyundai Steel cut bids for Japanese scrap sharply by JPY 12,500/t ($98/t) for H2 grade and JPY 13,500/t ($106/t) for shredded scrap after more than a month's gap. Bids for H2 scrap are now at JPY 53,500/t ($420/t) while those for shredded are at JPY 57,000/t ($447/t) FOB.
  
  

Meanwhile, POSCO floated bids for premium grade Japanese HS scrap after a gap of three months following Hyundai Steel. Bids for HS grade material were at JPY 64,000/t CFR ($504/t) while bids for shredded scrap were at JPY 63,000/t ($496/t) CFR.

Global sentiments and selling pressure on Japanese suppliers led to the significant drop in bid prices.

• Shagang Steel scrap prices at 2-month low: China's leading electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker, Jiangsu Shagang Group, reduced its scrap procurement prices by RMB 100/t ($15/t) for all grades. With this downward correction, current prices of HMS (6-10 mm) stood at RMB 3,820/t ($574/t), including 13% VAT, delivered to headquarters.
  
  

Chinese mills adjusted scrap prices due to the continued fall in finished steel prices.

• Subdued steel demand in Vietnam puts scrap offers under pressure: Vietnamese imported ferrous scrap prices continued the downtrend for yet another week, after the three-month straight hike seen in the early months of the year. Demand for finished steel from overseas and regional markets remained dull due to slow business activities, mainly in the construction sector.
  
  

Fresh offers for Japanese H2 bulk scrap dropped further to $490/t CFR, by $10/t w-o-w.

• Pakistan imported scrap prices rebound: Imported scrap trade in Pakistan remained slow amid price corrections seen at the start of the week. However, prices rebounded towards the week-end. Due to the material shortage in the domestic market, buyers actively booked the imported material.
  
  

Fresh offers for UK-origin shredded were around $510-515/t CFR Qasim levels, down by $5-10/t w-o-w.

• Bangladesh container trade continues, bulk trade absent: Bangladesh's imported scrap market is yet to pick up due to currency depreciation and lower steel demand from end-users at the start of the week. However, buyers booked small quantities as per their requirements towards the second-half of the week.
  
  

Bulk imported scrap buyers closely observed the market situation to get a clear picture before they resume the next round of bookings. Not many offers for bulk US scrap for July shipments were heard this week.

Price indications for containerised shredded are now at $540/t CFR, largely stable w-o-w.

• Fall in Indian steel prices keep imported scrap trade slow: Imported scrap trade activities remained slow throughout the week. However, offers inched up on d-o-d basis after witnessing a decline on global cues. Market participants opted a wait-and -watch approach amid uncertainty post-duty structure changes announced by the Indian government last week.
  
  

Fresh shredded offers were at $515/t CFR Nhava Sheva level, down by $15-20/t levels w-o-w.