Two bulk cargoes from the United States West Coast and Australia had been sold at $339 and $342 per tonne cfr Vietnam respectively by the same major scrapyard late last week, although news of the transactions were only heard in the spot market earlier this week.
One cargo was sold to a steel mill in northern Vietnam, while the other buyer could not be confirmed.
Deep-sea bulk HMS 1&2 (80:20) cargoes from the US West Coast were offered at $355 per tonne cfr Vietnam this week, with sellers raising offers due to the spike in Turkish import prices to $334.87 per tonne cfr Turkey for US-origin materials.
Bids were at $349 per tonne cfr Vietnam, although not many were heard in the market.
“The current price is too high for Vietnamese buyers; I do not think many buyers will be interested in deep-sea bulk cargoes,” a major buyer told Fastmarkets on Thursday.
In the containerized market, containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) was sold at $310 per tonne cfr Vietnam.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for deep-sea bulk cargoes of steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), cfr Vietnam was $349-355 per tonne on Friday, increasing by $25-29 per tonne from $320-330 per tonne a week earlier.
The price increases for deep-sea materials is in line with the shortage of domestic scrap, with buyers hard-pressed to find materials from local suppliers.
“Steel mills are trying to purchase domestic materials, but supply is limited because there is limited collection,” a Vietnamese scrap trader told Fastmarkets.
Domestic prices were at 6,700-6,800 dong per kg ($289-293 per tonne) in southern Vietnam, while prices were at 7,000-7,200 dong per kg in northern Vietnam for 3mm scrap.
Offers for Japanese H2 material were at $335-340 per tonne cfr southern Vietnam at the start of the week before increasing to $345 per tonne cfr southern Vietnam by Friday.
There was a transaction heard at $335 per tonne cfr Vietnam in the earlier part of this week. Bids were at $330-333 per tonne cfr Vietnam, sources told Fastmarkets, with some buyers staying on the sidelines due to the high prices.
There was a transaction at $345 per tonne cfr Vietnam for a 10,000-tonne Japan H1&H2 (50:50) cargo.
Offers for such materials were at $340 per tonne cfr southern Vietnam at the start of the week, with bids at $335 per tonne cfr Vietnam. Offers later increased to $345-350 per tonne cfr Vietnam toward the end of the week.
High-grade Japanese shredded scrap was offered at $355 per tonne cfr northern Vietnam in the earlier part of the week, while Japanese HS scrap was offered at $370 per tonne cfr northern Vietnam.
“Sentiment is also supported by China purchasing billets from Vietnam,” a trader in Vietnam told Fastmarkets.
China had purchase Vietnamese billets at $485 per tonne cfr, which is equivalent to $470-475 per tonne fob Vietnam, another trader in Vietnam told Fastmarkets.
Hong Kong-origin H1&H2 (50:50) cargoes were offered at $330-332 per tonne cfr Vietnam.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel scrap H2, Japan-origin import, cfr Vietnam was $335-345 per tonne on Friday, up $15-17 per tonne from $320-328 per tonne cfr Vietnam in the previous week.
