Weekly round-up: Global ferrous scrap prices witness marginal increment w-o-w

Global ferrous scrap prices have increased marginally this week, with revisions observed for various grades. The South Asian market, particularly India and Pakistan, maintained steady trade flow, while Bangladesh contributed small quantities, including bookings at Japan's Kanto scrap tender. Turkiye witnessed several deals at range-bound levels from Europe, the US, and Baltic suppliers.

Japanese ferrous scrap export prices have increased after the Kanto tender for June. China's Shagang Steel and Tokyo Steel have also revised their purchase prices during the week.

Turkiye: Turkish imported scrap prices have shown an upward trend this week, with frequent deals reported from various origins. However, the national currency, the Lira, has experienced a significant depreciation of nearly 8% against the US dollar after the recent Presidential election.

SteelMint's daily assessment for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from the US stood at $390/t CFR Turkiye, an increase of $5/t w-o-w.

India: In India, the imported ferrous scrap market remained sluggish, with cautious buying interest due to the narrow price gap between domestic and imported scrap. However, there has been a slight m-o-m increase in imported scrap arrivals in May, indicating consistent supply. Notably, north India recorded the highest scrap import volume of 196,567 t. According to market participants, domestic scrap demand recovered this week, yet the majority of buyers are still cautious about import bookings.

SteelMint's assessment for EU-origin shredded scrap to India now stands at $443/t CFR Nhava Sheva, up a $10/t compared to the previous week.

Pakistan: Pakistan's domestic steel market is under pressure with sluggish sales and low demand. Imported ferrous scrap trade has been slow, although scrap availability is firm. UK-origin shredded scrap offers have increased slightly.

UK-origin shredded scrap offers are at $440-445/t CFR, up $2-5/t w-o-w. Deals for 2,500-3,000 t of shredded scrap were heard at $435-440/t this week.

SteelMint assesses containerised EU-origin shredded scrap offers at $440/t CFR.

Bangladesh: Bangladesh's imported scrap market has witnessed limited trade and inquiries, with major players reducing purchases due to problems with LC openings and weak foreign exchange reserves. However, in the recent Japanese Kanto Tender, a Bangladesh-based steel mill secured the entire volume of around 15,000 t of H2 material, with an average price for H2 scrap at around JPY 48,167/t ($346/t) FAS.

The country successfully marked the fourth consecutive month as winner of this tender.

SteelMint's assessment for containerised UK-origin shredded scrap offers stands at $465/t CFR, up $3/t w-o-w.

Japan: Japan's bellwether Kanto Tetsugen scrap export tender concluded on 9 June with bid prices increasing by JPY 1,994/t FAS ($14/t) m-o-m to JPY 48,167/t ($346/t) FAS for 15,000 t of H2 scrap. The first upward movement was seen after a couple of rounds of decline since March.

SteelMint's assessment for Japanese H2 scrap stands at JPY 48,500 FOB, up sharply by JPY 1,200/t w-o-w.

Tokyo Steel: Following the Kanto tender, Tokyo Steel reduced its domestic ferrous scrap procurement prices by JPY 500/t ($4/t) for Utsunomiya, while prices remained unchanged for its two other plants. Earlier this week, the company had increased its scrap purchase price for the same plant, effective 7 June, which resulted in a net change in bid prices of JPY 1500/t ($11/t) this week.

China: Shagang Steel raised ferrous scrap purchase prices once this week for all grades, first by RMB 50/t ($7/t) w-o-w. Post-revision, HMS (6-10 mm) prices stand at RMB 2,880/t ($405/t), including 13% VAT, delivered to headquarters.

Vietnam: Vietnam's domestic scrap and rebar market has experienced low prices and weak demand, with limited activity in import market.

Offers for US-origin bulk HMS 1&2 (80:20) remained steady at $390/t CFR Vietnam, while Japan-origin H2 bulk scrap offers were reported at around $365-370/t CFR, stable w-o-w.