Amendment to frequency of China import steel scrap indices

After a one-month consultation period, Fastmarkets has amended the frequency of its China import steel scrap indices

The frequency of the indices, which were previously daily, has now moved to a twice-weekly basis as of Tuesday January 4. The market shall now be priced each Tuesday and Friday, notwithstanding changes to pricing schedules due to holidays.

Modifying the frequency of the price indices is based on feedback from market participants during the consultation between November 25 and December 27, 2021. Imported steel scrap has been subject to persistently low market activity since last June due to the wide gap between bids and offers for the material.

Following the amendment, the full specifications for the east China price index are as follows:

MB-STE-0889: Steel scrap, index, heavy recycled steel materials, cfr east China, $ per tonne

Quality: Cut structural and plate scrap, compliant with China scrap standard HRS101, minimum thickness of 6mm, minimum diameter of 10mm, length less than 1,500mm, width less than 600mm, maximum unit weight 1,500kg

Quantity: Minimum 2,000 tonnes (bulk)

Location: cfr eastern China ports

Timing: 3-10 weeks

Unit: US$ per tonne

Payment terms: Letter of credit on sight

Publication: Weekly, Tuesday and Friday, 5-6pm Shanghai time.

The full specifications for the north China price index are as follows:

MB-STE-0895: Steel scrap, index, heavy recycled steel materials, cfr north China, $ per tonne

Quality: Cut structural and plate scrap, compliant with China scrap standard HRS101, minimum thickness of 6mm, minimum diameter of 10mm, length less than 1,500mm, width less than 600mm, maximum unit weight 1,500kg

Quantity: Minimum 2,000 tonnes (bulk)

Location: cfr northern China ports

Timing: 3-10 weeks

Unit: US$ per tonne

Payment terms: Letter of credit on sight

Publication: Weekly, Tuesday and Friday, 5-6pm Shanghai time.

To provide feedback on these price indices, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to the prices, please contact Tianran Zhao by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com . Please add the subject heading ‘FAO: Tianran Zhao re: China scrap import price.’

To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/about-us/methodology.

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