Major global steel scrap markets have started to level off in recent days following sharp increases in the preceding few weeks.

Chinese ferrous scrap buyers are considering higher bids for imported heavy scrap, with steel mills in both east and northeast China looking to purchase more quantities in the coming weeks.

Import prices for ferrous scrap in Vietnam are still increasing due to a strengthening downstream steel market, though the rate of increase has slowed, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 9.

India is stepping back from importing ferrous scrap and aiming to become a more self-sufficient steelmaker. But what issues led to this change of tactics and how will it affect global scrap trade flows? Fastmarkets investigates.

Tata Steel’s recycling business in India is to offer domestically produced shredded material to the Indian market, adding to its existing offering, the company told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 7.

The key containerized ferrous scrap import market of Taiwan continued to witness price gains this week amid tight supply of United States- and Japan-origin materials, sources told Fastmarkets.

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.

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices edged up on Tuesday after firm offers from the Baltic Sea region, although many mills were looking to achieve further rebar sales in the export and domestic markets before purchasing more scrap, sources said on March 30.

Mexico will remain a net importer of finished steel and is facing a challenge, with its scrap deficit expected to swell by 2025, a McKinsey & Co executive said.

Asia will soon be hit by a “steel tsunami”, a veteran trader in Vietnam told Fastmarkets recently, with a combination of factors expected to keep prices high into the second and third quarters of 2021.