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.

Vietnamese buyers have been seeking bulk deep-sea ferrous scrap to make up for a lack of supply from Japan, market sources told Fastmarkets.

A lack of vessels at Japanese ports has resulted in low liquidity for imported ferrous scrap in the key market of Vietnam in the week to March 19, market sources told Fastmarkets.

Import prices for heavy scrap (HS) in China moved down on Friday March 19 amid shipping difficulties and a drop in buying demand, sources told Fastmarkets.

Chinese steel scrap buyers have been absent from the import market due to the muted sentiment after some serious environmental inspections at steel mills in Tangshan yesterday, sources said on March 12.

New transactions concluded for containerized steel scrap cargoes sold to Bangladesh fetched lower prices over the past week, sources told Fastmarkets.

Economic and policy experts at aluminium, steel and scrap trade associations are hopeful about demand and policy prospects in 2021, but remain wary about potential problems that could still arise from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Steel scrap prices continued to surge this week due to sustained demand from buyers in all markets, with the exception of India. Downstream steel prices have supported raw material price increases in Asia, with buyers melting scrap to feed demand for billet and long steel products.