Japan Ferrous Scrap Price Drops to Under 30,000 yen/t

Japanese ferrous scrap price decreased to less than 30,000 yen per tonne at electric furnace steel makers’ purchase price for H2 in Tokyo and Osaka. Tokyo Steel Manufacturing reduced the purchase price by 1,000 yen at all plants on Saturday after reduction on Wednesday and Thursday. Other makers followed the move when scrap export price to East Asia keeps decreasing.

Hyundai Steel bids FOB 30,800 yen per tonne for Japanese H2 scrap at the tender last week, which was more than 2,000 yen lower than recent peak. A trading firm source said the Asian buyers try to find the trend when Tokyo Steel reduced the scrap purchase price by 2,000-2,500 yen last week.

Electric furnace steel makers around Tokyo pay 28,000-29,500 yen per tonne for H2 scrap, which is 2,000-3,000 yen lower than last week. Tokyo Steel reduced the purchase price by additional 1,000 yen at Utsunomiya plant on Saturday and other makers followed the move.

The makers’ purchase price is almost same level as scrap market price around the Tokyo bay area. Some dealers shift to steel makers instead of coastal export shipping yards. However, the dealers have still trouble to secure the material under tight supply.

Electric furnace steel makers around Osaka pay 29,000-30,000 yen per tonne for H2, which is 500-1,000 yen lower than last weekend. The price decreased by 1,000-1,500 yen in Osaka and by 2,000-2,500 yen in Himeji area.

Many steel makers reduced the scrap purchase price last week. However, the scrap supply could keep tight when many makers restart normal operation in the week after summer time maintenance outage