Prices of Japanese ferrous scrap to Korea rose during the week of January 4 but prices fell in the Japanese domestic scrap market. The import markets in East Asia for bulk heavy melting scrap remained quiet during the same week.
Japanese scrap export prices were creeping upward, Japanese trading sources said Friday.
Japanese traders confirmed South Korea's Dongkuk Steel Mill booked 20,000 of Japanese H2 material at Yen 16,000/mt FOB ($135/mt) during the week.
The company was initially aiming to book material at Yen 15,500/mt FOB, but no suppliers accepted this bid price. Korea's Hyundai Steel last booked Japanese H2 at Yen 15,000/mt FOB during December 21 week, Platts noted.
Some trading sources said the stronger yen prevented deals in Taiwan and Vietnam.
A Taiwanese trader said the Japanese were targeting to export H2 at above $160/mt CFR. On Friday, the Japanese yen hovered at 117-118 to the dollar compared with Yen 120-121 at the end of December.
While trading activities of Japanese scrap to Vietnam and Taiwan was quiet, buyers in these two countries have raised their bidding prices.
Vietnamese buyers were targeting to buy Japanese H1/H2 50:50 at $170/mt CFR, $10/mt higher compared in end-December (equivalent to about Yen 15,275/mt FOB for H2 scrap).
At the same time, Taiwanese buyers were aiming to book H2 at $160/mt, $5/mt higher than end-December (equivalent to about Yen 15,862/mt FOB).
Japanese trading sources said they expected trading activity to pick up soon for February shipment orders.
Also the forthcoming H2 January 13 scrap export tender by the Kanto Tetsugen group of scrap dealers around Tokyo is expected to spur some interest in the export of Japanese scrap.
In Japan, Tokyo Steel Manufacturing cut its scrap purchase prices by Yen 500/mt ($4/mt) at Okayama and Takamatsu works, both in western Japan, effective December 26 arrivals and by Yen 500/mt for all works effective January 8 arrivals.
The company is paying Yen 15,500/mt ($132/mt) at its Utsunomiya works, north of Tokyo. Other mini-mills in Japan also cut their scrap procurement prices by a similar range.
Japanese traders were paying Yen 14,500/mt ($123/mt) FAS to collect H2 scrap for export, down Yen 500/mt from end-December.
Traders are aiming at an export price of at least Yen 16,000/mt FOB for H2 scrap.
Meanwhile, the import markets for bulk HMS continued to be dull with little trading activity. "There is nothing going on, it is very quiet," a Thai trader said Friday.
A Taiwanese trader said the market was watching closely Chinese steel prices. He believed that that should the Chinese yuan weaken further, lower Chinese steel export prices would depress scrap prices.
He and others said that a leading Taiwanese EAF mill secured containerized HMS 80:20 scrap from USA at $155/mt CFR during the week.
Platts assessed its weekly East Asian bulk HMS 80:20 price at $170-$175/mt CFR Friday, unchanged since October 23. The implied midpoint was $172.50/mt.
