Taiwan's ferrous scrap imports fall 6pc on year in Aug

Taiwan's ferrous scrap imports totalled 215,245t in August, marking a 6.2pc decrease year-on-year and a 1.8pc drop month-on-month. The reduced import volume was because of buyers avoiding Japan-origin scrap because of a drop in US containerised scrap price from the US west coast. Weak domestic steel demand in Taiwan and low-cost billet offers from China led buyers to limit their ferrous scrap imports.

• Imports from the US west coast increased by 10.2pc on year and 5.3pc on month as buyers took advantage of falling prices and sought more US containerised scrap. The US accounted for 47.7pc of Taiwan's total ferrous scrap imports in August.
• The Argus HMS 1/2 80:20 containerised scrap from the US west coast started at a high of $345/t at the beginning of August but dropped to $325/t by 30 August.
• Scrap imports from Japan fell by 67.5pc from a year earlier to 22,502t in August. The decrease was because the Japanese yen surged, reaching as high as ¥146.17:$1 on 31 August, up from ¥149.20: $1 at the start of the month. A stronger yen meant that buyers had to spend more US dollars for trades, as deals are typically closed in dollars.
• The reduced imported scrap volumes reflected weak steel fundamentals and expectations of a prolonged downturn during the summer seasonal lull from May to September. An influx of cheap billets from China significantly impacted scrap demand in August. Billet prices were as low as $445-450/t cfr Taiwan in mid-August, trade sources said.
• Imported ferrous scrap may continue to decline in the coming months if domestic steel demand does not show significant signs of improvement, trade sources said. Some sellers are optimistic about rising scrap prices and volume in the fourth quarter of the year, as slower collection efforts and year-end celebrations usually mean that mills will look to restock more tonnages before then.