Mills in Taiwan, Vietnam, and Indonesia raised bids to match rising offers amid tight supply and strong demand in Turkey and other markets.
Exporters from USWC raised offers for bulk HMS 1&2 (80:20) to South Korea to $470/mt on Thursday, up by $20-30/mt from the prior week. Offers are expected to rise on strong demand and global scrap shortage.
Taiwan
The Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Thursday, rose by $1/mt to $429/mt cfr Taiwan with bids catching up to rising offers. US-based exporters raised offers to $435/mt in anticipation of a rise in finished steel demand and higher iron ore prices. The index rose by $41/mt from the prior week (Feb 18).
Taiwanese mills booked Japanese HMS 1&2 (50:50) at $435/mt cfr, while offers rose to $445/mt cfr on Thursday amid strong global cues. Amid a global and domestic short supply of scrap, mills are expected to raise bids next week, while ow inventory post-holidays forced some buyers to resume procurement this week.
The weekly Davis Indexes for containerized P&S 5ft, #1 HMS, shredded and #1 busheling rose by by $33/mt, $37/mt, $29/mt and $35/mt $454/mt cfr, $438/mt cfr, $443/mt cfr and $464/mt cfr, respectively. Mills have turned cautious amid a rise in offers for Japanese ferrous scrap. Bids for Japanese shred at $455/mt cfr, while no deals were heard as offers rose to $460-470/mt cfr.
On Wednesday, steelmaker Feng Hsin raised ferrous scrap bids by TWD1,000/mt ($36/mt) from the prior week to procure domestic scrap instead of imports.
Vietnam
Vietnamese mills have raised bids post-holidays but still prefer to buy bulk scrap due to a short supply of empty containers. Offers for Russian 3A scrap heard at $469/mt, up by $19/mt from the week prior, but no deals confirmed. A USWC bulk scrap deal on HMS 1&2 (80:20) heard late last week at $440/mt cfr. Offers rose to $470/mt cfr and bids were at $460/mt cfr on Thursday.
Offers for Japanese HS rose to $500/mt cfr with bids rising to $490/mt cfr, up by $30-40/mt from the prior week.
Mills are cautiously checking Chinese and Turkish buying prices before any confirmations. South Korean offers for P&S rose to $495/mt cfr China, up by $30/mt from prior deals.
In the containers market, the weekly index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) Thursday settled at $433/mt cfr Vietnam up $35/mt from the prior week. Vietnamese mills raised bids to $430/mt, while offers rose to $435-440/mt.
The weekly index for P&S 5ft and shredded rose by $40/mt and $39/mt, to $458/mt cfr and $448/mt cfr, respectively, on Thursday, amid rising offers.
In bulk, offers for Hong Kong HMS 1&2 (50:50) rose by $25-30/mt to $430-435/mt from the prior week, while bids were at $420-425/mt cfr.
Indonesia
Indonesian mills have started raising bids and some tonnages were booked this week. Buyers are cautious of new bookings as many yards are still processing export registration. Traders said better freight rates have made Indonesia a preferred destination for scrap exports from the US.
The weekly Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose by $37/mt to $435/mt cfr Jakarta. Limited deals heard at $405/mt cfr Jakarta on Monday with offers rising to $440/mt and bids to $430/mt cfr on Thursday. Mills preferred ferrous scrap from Malaysia and Hong Kong for immediate requirements.
The indexes for P&S 5ft and shredded rose by $45/mt to $463/mt cfr and $455/mt cfr Jakarta, respectively.
The weekly Davis Index for #1 busheling rose by $35/mt at $469/mt cfr. Few deals for Malaysia busheling heard at $450/mt cfr Jakarta on Monday, up by $15/mt from the prior week, while offers rose to $470-480/mt cfr. Limited deals heard as most mills turned cautious amid rising global scrap prices.
($1=TWD105.6)