Electric Furnaces Raise Ferrous Scrap Buy Prices in Tokyo

Ferrous scrap purchasing price by electric furnace steel makers around Tokyo is approaching to 40,000 yen per tonne. Utsunomiya works of Tokyo Steel Manufacturing increased the ferrous scrap purchase price by 1,000 yen to 40,500 yen for H2 on Thursday. The price hit the record since the establishment of the works. The makers are expected to raise the price more when the makers are increasing their production volume.Local makers’ purchasing price is around 38,000-39,000 yen per tonne for H2 grade while some pay as high as 40,500 yen. The electric furnaces are increasing ferrous scrap purchasing volume when their scheduled refinement finished in summer.Dealer source said the market price seems to keep firm due to strong export price from Tokyo bay. Hyundai Steel, South Korean steel maker, raised the purchasing price of Japanese ferrous scrap. Hyundai Steel offered around FOB 39,000 yen per tonne for H2 grade Japanese scrap and around FOB 44,500 yen for new cutting scrap at a weekly tender on Wednesday. Hyundai Steel raised both the prices by 500 yen from the previous tender. The offer price renewed the record for 2 consecutive weeks.