Posted on 12 Aug 2020
Importers in Asia are accepting higher prices for scrap, Kallanish understands.
In Vietnam, Japanese H2 purchase prices have risen by more than $10/tonne from end-July, with offers prevailing at $275-280/t cfr Vietnam last week.
Mills in southern Vietnam booked Japanese H2 scrap at $270/t cfr last Thursday. Japanese H2 scrap was last booked at $273/t cfr on letter of credit at sight, also to southern Vietnam, a Vietnamese trader reports. There was also a 15,000-tonne deal to northern Vietnam at $275/t cfr on a 90-day LC.
An importer says he also heard several cargoes booked last Friday at these levels. The Japanese scrap export market has quietened this week due to a holiday in Japan.
Leading electric arc furnace operator Tokyo Steel started paying JPY 23,500/t ($222/t) for H2 scrap purchases trucked to its Utsunomiya steelworks, located north of Tokyo from 8 August. This is the company's second JPY 500/t price hike so far for the month of August. It was paying JPY 22,500/t during 28 July-4 August.
Meanwhile, US bulk scrap prices have also risen. A US supplier was heard by some sources in South Korea and Taiwan to have sold bulk scrap last week at $295/t cfr Vietnam HMS basis and $297/t cfr for shredded. The 30,000t cargo was heard to include 22,000t of shredded, 4,000t of HMS 1&2 80:20 and 4,000t of plate & structural scrap.
However, Vietnamese trading sources did not hear of the deal. A Vietnamese importer says those prices are too high to be concluded and that he was not able to confirm the deal. “It could be a one-off deal,” says a scrap exporter who regularly exports to Vietnam. “A lot of Vietnamese mills refused to pay such high prices (a week ago),” he adds.
There was a confirmed booking of 15,000-20,000t of Australian HMS 80:20 scrap at $285/t cfr Indonesia last week. Traders also report hearing of a 32,000t US bulk cargo to Bangladesh booked at $307.50/t cfr for 80:20 basis.
Source:Kallanish
