Weekly round-up: Global scrap markets see divergent price trends

• Turkey's imported scrap prices remain firm: Imported scrap trade in Turkey dropped off this week after limited deals were concluded at lower levels in the previous week. Meanwhile, buyers need few more cargoes to fulfill the end-users' demand within deadlines. Major suppliers assume that Turkish buyers would certainly show some curiosity in booking new slots for Oct'21 shipments but buyers opted to hang back for more price corrections. SteelMint's assessment for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) stands at $441/tonne (t) CFR Turkey, unchanged w-o-w.
  
  

A baltic-origin cargo was booked by a steel mill comprising 22,000 t of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at a price of $434/t CFR. Over 3,000 t of Bonus scrap were booked at around $449/t on CFR levels.

• Japanese scrap export market less active: Increasing domestic demand kept Japanese suppliers active in the market. Furthermore, the significant hike in freight rates created a hindrance for other Japanese scrap buying countries like Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, and South Korea. SteelMint's assessment for Japanese scrap export offers stands steady at JPY 47,500/t FOB, unchanged w-o-w.
  
  
• Tokyo Steel raises scrap purchase price third time this week: Japan's leading EAF steel mill, Tokyo Steel, increased its scrap purchase prices for the third time. The company has raised bids by up to JPY 2,000/t ($18) for four of its steelworks. However, prices for the Utsunomiya works remain unchanged. Post-third revision, the company's bid price for H2 scrap will be JPY 50,000/t ($456/t) for the Tahara steelworks, JPY 49,000/t ($447/t) for Takamatsu and JPY 52,000/t ($474/t) each for Okayama and Kyushu.
  
  

Prices in JPY
Source: Tokyo Steel

1. Vietnam's imported scrap market sees improved trade: The Vietnamese market has witnessed an uptick as Japanese scrap traders lifted export prices due to which prices have shown some upward movement. However, ferrous scrap imports are anticipated to pick up in the near term with possibilities of easing of lockdowns in the short term. SteelMint's assessment for Japanese bulk H2 moved up to around $485-495/t CFR Vietnam, up by $15-20/t w-o-w.
   
   
2. Shagang scrap procurement prices remains stable: China's largest EAF steelmaker, Shagang Jiangsu Steel, announced the first reduction in scrap procurement prices last week, after a hike seen at the start of the month. The steelmaker has cut scrap purchase prices by RMB 70/t ($11/t) for all grades from mid-September. After the last revision, the price of HMS (6-10 mm) stands at RMB 3,710/t ($574/t), including 13% VAT, delivered to headquarters, unchanged w-o-w.
   
   
3. Bangladeshi imported bulk scrap trade subdued: Bangladesh's scrap import market has been inactive this week due to sluggish demand for rebar by end-customers in the national market. However, negotiations are going on for bulk cargoes, and deals are likely to happen in the near future, owing to seasonal demand.
   
   

Around 2,000-3,000 t of UK-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) have been booked at around $500/t CFR levels

Another deal of 1,000 t of HMS (90:10) has been concluded at $508/t CFR levels.

SteelMint's price assessments for shredded of UK/EU-origin shredded in containers is at $530-540/t CFR Chittagong levels, mostly unchanged w-o-w.

• Pakistan imported scrap prices down: Market performers are not very active at the moment. A non-stop decline in iron ore prices, slowness of Turkish buyers in making fresh bookings and unresponsive market sentiments in bordering countries like India and Bangladesh, could be the probable factors leading to a drop in scrap prices.
  
  

SteelMint's bi-weekly assessment for shredded scrap of UK/EU-origin stands at $515/t CFR Port Qasim, down $5-10/t compared to the beginning of this week.

• India's imported scrap prices largely stable in recent deals: India's imported scrap market saw less trade activities this week with some deals getting concluded. Disparities in bids and offers are the main reasons for the market remaining inactive. No deals were concluded from the last two-three months for high-grade scrap and shredded. However, the market is likely to improve from next month as construction activities will pick up ahead of the festive season. Fresh offers are at $515-520/t CFR levels as per SteelMint's bi-weekly assessment, stable w-o-w.