Posted on 18 Nov 2016
Several bookings by South Korean mills recently reflect the strong tone of the Japanese ferrous scrap market, sources in Seoul and Tokyo said this week.
On Wednesday, Posco P&S purchased higher grade Japanese scrap -- HS and Shindachi -- at Yen 31,000/mt ($284/mt) CFR South Korea, equivalent to Yen 29,000/mt FOB, trading sources said. The mill purchased around 25,000 mt of HS and 5,000 mt of Shindachi, a Seoul-based trader said.
Posco wasn't immediately available for comment on the matter late Thursday.
South Korea's leading mill, Hyundai Steel is heard to have contacted suppliers individually to book Japanese H2 grade at around Yen 25,000/mt FOB since Wednesday.
Hyundai wasn't immediately available for comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, Tokyo Steel Manufacturing increased its scrap buying prices by Yen 500-1,000/mt effective from Friday (November 18) arrivals at all works and a steel center. This is the company's fourth increase since November 8 and the total increase has reached Yen 4,000-5,500/mt. H2 buying price at Utsunomiya works, north of Tokyo, has become Yen 25,000/mt.
A Japanese scrap trader said that scrap dealers are still holding their scrap to monitor the movement, so the deliveries to Japanese mini-mills are still slow.
On Wednesday, S&P Global Platts assessed the H2 scrap export price at Yen 24,500-25,000/mt FOB Tokyo Bay Wednesday, up Yen 2,500/mt from the mid-point of last week's assessment at Yen 22,000-22,500/mt FOB.
Meanwhile, late last week, Posco P&S purchased around 15,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 at $273/mt CFR Vietnam and 15,000 mt of shredded at &278/mt CFR Vietnam, trading sources said.
On Wednesday, Platts assessed the East Asian bulk HMS I/II 80:20 scrap assessment to $270-275/mt CFR, up from the previous week's $255-265/mt CFR.
