Japanese ferrous scrap purchases on the seaborne market stepped up as buyers capitalised on the weaker yen. The Argus daily assessment for H2 scrap fob Japan fell by ¥100/t to ¥44,300/t today, while the dollar-equivalent price fell by $4/t to $290/t.
The depreciating yen allowed traders to reduce export prices, making Japanese scrap more competitive as other suppliers were reluctant to match these reductions.
Most US suppliers maintained their containerised scrap prices at around $325/t cfr Taiwan, leading some mills to opt for Japanese H1/H2 50:50, which was available at $330/t cfr. Japanese scrap usually prices at a $10/t premium to containerised scrap. A few deals for Japanese H1/H2 50:50 were concluded at this level this week, with lower bids of around $328/t also noted, reflecting downbeat sentiment.
Vietnamese buyers were targeting $335/t cfr, or slightly less, for H2. Bids for shindachi stood at $355-360/t cfr. Traders expected Vietnamese buyers to remain in the seaborne market because of steady production and recovering steel demand.
Despite the fact that Japanese scrap is currently one of the most attractive options for overseas buyers needing to restock, many buyers are unwilling to make large purchases, according to traders. "The outlook for the steel market is not optimistic, so we will only buy raw material hand-to-mouth," a mill buyer said.
