Japanese Ferrous Scrap Market Price Continues to Decline

Ferrous scrap market price continued to decline in Japan and hit the yearly lowest around Osaka. Tokyo Steel Manufacturing, Japanese largest electric furnace steel maker, cut its scrap purchasing price by 1,000 yen per tonne at the all factories on Tuesday. Other electric furnace steel makers followed the price cut around Tokyo and Osaka. The market trend maintains downward when Japanese ferrous scrap export market price is impacted by weak offshore market price.

Electric furnaces around Tokyo purchase H2 grade scrap at average 27,000-28,000 yen per tonne. Ferrous scrap shippers around Tokyo Bay averagely pay FAS 27,000 yen per tonne. Ferrous scrap shipment has kept the high volume at more than 40,000 tonnes per week recently while some shippers show weak appetite for additional scrap procurement. The price trend is edging downward. Local steel makers seem not to increase scrap consumption for a while. Several sources say the market price might decline more.

Around Osaka, local electric furnace steel makers implemented the price cut by 1,000 yen per tonne on Tuesday. As a result, their purchasing price became average 27,000-28,000 yen for H2, even lower than the yearly bottom from late January to early February. Market sources said scrap delivery to local steel makers is decreasing since last weekend and the market price might continue to decrease when steel products market price is weak.