Hyundai Steel bought 6,000mt of busheling (shindachi) at JPY34,500/mt fob Japan and 5,000mt HS at JPY34,000/mt fob on Wednesday. Except for Hyundai, most Korean mills increased domestic scrap prices by KRW5,000-10,000/mt ($4-9/mt) delivered Pohang this week.
South Korea
Containerized imported ferrous scrap prices in South Korea rose this week on the back of higher offer prices. Demand, however, is still under pressure with mills holding good levels of scrap inventories. The weekly Davis Index for containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20), Wednesday, settled at $299/mt cfr South Korea, up by $13/mt, with no deals heard at the index price. Offers were up at $300-305/mt cfr this week with expectation of them further rising as per market participants.
Mills preferred to negotiate for Japanese bulk scrap over higher-priced US-origin material. Dongkuk steel deal for #2 HMS was heard at JPY30,500/mt($318/mt) fob Japan.
With Chinese mills increasing billet imports, steel mills in Korea are expected to increase production for December deliveries. Offers for billet exports rose by $15-20/mt from the prior week to $490-495/mt cfr Southeast Asia and China. With Indian mills focusing on the domestic billet sales amid higher realizations, few suppliers were interested to offer more volumes in the export market.
South Korean domestic ferrous scrap prices trended up amid rising imported scrap offers. Except for Hyundai, most Korean mills increased domestic scrap prices by KRW5,000-10,000/mt ($4-9/mt) delivered Pohang this week.
The weekly Davis Indexes for P&S 5ft, #1 HMS, and shredded rose by $21/mt, $13/mt and $14/mt to $330/mt, $306/mt, and $316/mt cfr South Korea, respectively.
South American suppliers offered HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $290-295/mt cfr South Korea on Wednesday up by $10/mt from the prior week.
In bulk market, Hyundai Steel bought 6,000mt of busheling (shindachi) at JPY34,500/mt fob Japan and 5,000mt HS at JPY34,000/mt fob on Wednesday. Except for Hyundai, most Korean mills increased domestic scrap prices by KRW5,000-10,000/mt ($4-9/mt) delivered Pohang this week. A South Korean mill was heard to have bought 40,000 mt of #2 HMS at JPY30,500/mt fob this week.
Taiwan
Taiwanese mills continued to buy limited ferrous scrap cautiously. A few deals were heard at $305/mt cfr on Wednesday. The Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) Wednesday rose by $3/mt to $303/mt cfr Taiwan from the prior week.
Offers for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) in TEUs were at $305-310/mt cfr and are expected to rise with an uptick in buying from Turkey. Despite limited demand, suppliers are raising offers and pushing up scrap prices. As per traders, most Taiwanese mill’s bids are lower than imported scrap and therefore they are more likely to buy domestic scrap. Feng Hsin and other steel mills have not raised domestic scrap prices this week to keep input costs in check.
In bulk, no deals were heard this week due to rising offers and higher bids for Kanto Tender.
($1= KRW1,102; JPY103.9)