STEEL SCRAP WRAP: Global export activity cools off in most markets

Appetites for steel scrap exports were broadly subdued in the week to Friday June 4, with the exception of imports into India and Pakistan.

  • Turkey cooled its importing activity amid softer demand for finished steel, adjusting offers downward
  • Prices for cargoes from the East and West Coasts of the US diverged
  • Vietnamese importers stayed out of the market amid price-trend confusion
  • Chinese appetites were lackluster, keeping prices steady
  • An accident in Taiwan’s Kaohsiung port was not seen to affect containerized scrap prices
  • Better import appetites from India and Pakistan bolstered shredded scrap prices.

Turkey
A cooling-off in the demand for finished steel led to a dearth of deep-sea scrap cargo bookings reported from Turkey in the week to June 4.

Turkish buyers adjusted their offers for HMS 1&2 (80:20) downward to $495 per tonne cfr on this basis.

This latest offer was a reduction of $8 per tonne from the region’s last reported purchase of this scrap grade, heard at $503 per tonne from the US East Coast at the end of the preceding week.

Pricing history
steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), Northern Europe origin, cfr Turkey.
steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20), US origin, cfr Turkey.

United States
Export prices for HMS 1&2 (80:20) on the West Coast rose by $70 per tonne on the basis of two sales to Bangladesh that came to light over the week, while those from the East Coast continued to gradually soften after peaking at $525 per tonne.

Pricing history
steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20), export index, fob New York.
steel scrap shredded scrap, export index, fob New York.
steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), export index, fob Los Angeles.

Vietnam
Mixed pricing trends across the Asian export scrap markets kept Vietnamese importers on the fence and out of the market this week.

Pricing history
steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), cfr Vietnam.

China
Subdued buying appetites kept China’s scrap markets quiet and prices steady over the course of the week.

Pricing history
steel scrap, heavy scrap, domestic, delivered mill China.

Taiwan
Weak demand continued to push Taiwanese prices down incrementally, but it was thought that an incident at the territory’s Kaohsiung port would have a minimal effect on containerized scrap prices.

Pricing history
steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US material import, cfr main port Taiwan.

India
Tight supply improved sentiment in the Southeast Asian market this week, with shredded import prices into India and Pakistan both rising.

Pricing history
steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India.

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