Japanese ferrous scrap export prices appeared to have peaked after leading South Korean electric arc furnace mill Hyundai Steel's lower bid prices Friday attracted a massive volume of offers from Japanese suppliers, trading sources in Seoul and Tokyo said.
In a surprise move, the South Korean mini-mill decided to pull out and not purchase any H2 grade scrap late Friday, trading sources in Seoul said. On Friday morning, Hyundai Steel had lowered its bid price for Japanese H2 scrap to Yen 21,000/mt ($209/mt) FOB Friday, down Yen 500/mt from its previous bid on August 19.
After the South Korean mill placed its bid of Yen 21,000/mt, the mill was inundated with offers totaling around 200,000 mt of Japanese scrap, a South Korean trader said. Japanese suppliers were willing to cut their initial offer price of Yen 21,500/mt FOB because of concerns that Hyundai would push down its buying prices further, he added.
However, noting that this bid price was probably too high in today's market, the mini-mill decided to buy only Shindachi-grade scrap this week. Hyundai had lowered its bid price for Shindachi by Yen 500/mt to Yen 24,000/mt FOB.
Trading sources in Seoul and Tokyo warned Japanese scrap prices might have peaked. Hyundai placed its bid for H2 scrap at Yen 21,500/mt FOB August 19, Yen 2,000/mt higher from its previous bid August 5. The mini-mill booked a total of 108,000 mt of Japanese scrap in the previous tender.
Hyundai has collected sufficient scrap in its August 19 tender and is looking to push down prices now, a Tokyo-based scrap trader said. With scrap export prices to South Korea higher than elsewhere, the mill is probably trying to adjust its prices downwards to the same level elsewhere in the region, he said.
S&P Global Platts assessed its weekly H2 scrap export price at Yen 21,500/mt FOB Tokyo Bay Wednesday, up Yen 1,250/mt from last week's mid-point of Yen 20,000-20,500/mt FOB.
