JAPAN STEEL SCRAP: Vessel problems keep lid on fob prices Japan s export steel scrap market presented a mixed picture in the week to Thursday April 1, with rising steel prices in Asia colliding with continued difficulties in sourcing vessels at key Japanese ports, sources said. Sales of 3sp steel billet from Indonesia hit $630 per tonne cfr China this week, driven by strong long steel demand in the Chinese market.
Vietnamese mills were heard offering billet at $630-635 per tonne cfr China. That is up from sales at $620 per tonne cfr from Vietnam last week, and further strengthens the billet-scrap margin at key Vietnamese mills.
Japanese export scrap prices have continued to increase following new deals to Vietnam, Taiwan and China, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday March 3.
Asia steel scrap prices to continue nosedive short term - sources Prices for steel scrap across Asian markets have plummeted in recent days due to weak sentiment and buyers abstaining from purchases, market participants told Fastmarkets on Friday January 22.
Market expectations of further price drops ahead of the Chinese New Year - observed in a week-long holiday from February 11 - led to buy-side bearishness across Asian markets, Fastmarkets heard.
This prompted sellers in the steel billet market, cfr Southeast Asia, to attempt offering more cargoes out to sell stock and cash in before prices fall further, but buyers have been cautious to make any bookings in a sharply dropping market.
FOCUS: Restart of China scrap imports bad news for rival Asian buyers Chinaâs regulatory reboot to again become a major steel scrap importer is likely to cause supply problems for other consumers of Japanese material, market participants have told Fastmarkets. The first deals signed by Chinese companies after rules changed on December 31 to officially allow the restart of scrap imports to China have all been for vessels of Japanese material.
If this continues, Chinaâs import strategy is likely to pose a great challenge to other territories that depend on the supply of Japanese scrap, such as Vietnam, Taiwan and Bangladesh, sources said.