Renewed buying interest from consumers in South Korea and Taiwan has allowed another increase in Japanese export scrap prices over the past week, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday December 16.

Spot import prices for containerized ferrous scrap into Taiwan hit a historical high in the week to Friday December 11, because of delays to shipments from the United States West Coast, sources told Fastmarkets this week.

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States continue to hover near their highest levels since August 2018, with buyers preparing for still more increases from the domestic mills.

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have shot past $42.50 per hundredweight ($850 per short ton), and there is little on the horizon to stop them from hitting $45 per cwt or even $50 per cwt, market participants said.

Small and medium-sized steel mills in Bangladesh have been forced to re-enter the market for scrap at high prices, market participants said on Thursday December 3.

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have held above $40 per hundredweight ($800 per short ton) while the availability of spot tons remains limited, according to sources.

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States climbed over $40 per hundredweight ($800 per short ton) for the first time since 2018 after more buyers chased fewer spot tons at the domestic mills.

A number of Chinese dealers and business entities are taking over Japanese scrapyards, or setting up scrap businesses in Japan, to secure sufficient supply of the steelmaking raw material for steel mills in China, market sources told Fastmarkets this week.

Global ferrous scrap prices continued on an upward trend due to supply tightness and strong demand by steelmakers in the week ended Friday November 27.

Vietnamese scrap buyers have continued sourcing import cargoes amid supply tightness and stable demand in the week to Friday November 27, market sources told Fastmarkets.