US containerized ferrous scrap prices varied in New York with some gains on better grades while they continued mostly rangebound on the West Coast. HMS 1&2 (80:20) indexes made some gains on the West Coast due to limited sellers for the grade.
The New York weekly Davis Index reversed course on some grades with gains compared to a contraction last week. The #1 busheling index climbed by $5/mt to $498/mt fas, P&S 5ft rose by $8/mt to $478/mt fas, and shredded increased by $5/mt to $473/mt fas. HMS 1&2 (80:20) declined slightly by $3/mt to $443/mt fas but machine shop turnings fell by $16/mt as some Indian buyers reported obtaining deals on the grade given the recent market uncertainty.
Indian buyers actively purchased ferrous containers of HMS 1&2 (80:20), P&S 5ft, and shredded over the week on resumed trades. Some traders reported softer US-origin offers for shredded surfacing for Pakistan today.
The weekly Los Angeles Davis Indexes encountered mixed movements but remained relatively rangebound with #1 busheling falling by $3/mt to $435/mt fas and shredded decreasing by $2/mt to $428/mt fas. P&S 5ft trended unchanged at $427/mt fas again while HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose by $5/mt to $395/mt fas with heard deals moving towards $400/mt fas. Market participants report few active sellers due to high container prices, continued low container availability, and port issues. Additionally, most exporters are focusing on fulfillment of previously made sales with some scrap yards preferring to focus on domestic opportunities or placing scrap in deep-sea docks.
Southeast Asia, including Thailand and Indonesia, has been mostly out of the market due to COVID-19 shutdowns. Taiwan and Vietnam have encountered increases of $5/mt cfr on their imported HMS 1&2 (80:20) pricing.
Japanese domestic ferrous scrap is gradually recovering and has the potential of raising domestic prices at Tokyo Steel, which may result in improvements in Japanese export offers. Japan may face tight domestic supply given the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown
due to end in two weeks. A stronger Japanese ferrous export market will support US prices and sourcing.
The San Francisco Davis Indexes for #1 busheling and shredded remained unchanged at $428/mt fas and $421/mt fas, respectively. HMS 1&2 (80:20) gained $6/mt to $390/mt fas while P&S 5ft climbed by $1/mt to $421/mt fas.
In Seattle, the Davis Index for #1 busheling dropped by $2/mt to $421/mt fas as shredded fell by $1/mt to $418/mt fas. HMS 1&2 (80:20) climbed by $5/mt to $385/mt fas while P&S 5ft remained unchanged at $418/mt fas.
The US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) index fell by $4.38/mt to $450.50/mt cfr Turkey on Thursday from $454.88/mt cfr on Aug 19. US domestic September ferrous trade is likely to begin next week with mostly a consensus of soft movements given the slight oversupply of scrap to mills on seasonality. Depending on the region, some anticipate a decline by $10-20/gt across all grades while others are forecasting a contraction on #1 busheling by up to $30-40/gt against August settled prices.