Japan Ferrous Scrap Export Price Slightly Lowers at Kansai Tetsugen’s Tender

Japanese ferrous scrap export price became FAS 30,800 yen per tonne for H2 grade at an export tender held by Kansai Tetsugen, which is an association of scrap dealers around Osaka, on Friday. The price was lower than 31,270 yen of the previous tender on December 9. Meanwhile, the price was higher than local electric furnace steel makers’ scrap purchase prices by 1,000-1,500 yen.

Arae Shokai, a local ferrous scrap dealer, won the bid at 5,000 tonnes. Twelve exporters submitted 12 bids for the tender while 2 eligible exporters rejected to submit.

Local electric furnaces purchase H2 at around 28,500-29,000 yen and some pay as high as 29,500 yen. They lowered the purchase prices several times in January.

South Korean steel makers are increasing scrap procurement from Japan after Chinese New Year holidays when Japanese ferrous scrap price is lower than American ferrous scrap price. At Tokyo Bay, ferrous scrap export price rebounded slightly thanks to the sharp volume increase.

On the other hand, domestic dealers accelerated scrap shipment to steel makers in January when scrap market price downed. Thus steel makers have scrap stocks while American ferrous scrap market price currently seems stagnant, suggested one Japanese scrap dealer.

Around Tokyo Bay, scrap exporters are raising their purchasing prices by 500-1,000 yen to FAS 29,000-29,500 yen for H2 from last week. The export shipping from Tokyo Bay reached 50,000 tonnes mainly to South Korea last week. Local electric furnaces pay 29,000-30,000 yen for H2 and some pay as high as 30,500 yen.