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Tokyo Steel lifts scrap purchase prices
Thursday, 02 July 2009
Low scrap generation has led Tokyo Steel Manufacturing to lift scrap buying prices by ¥500-1,000/t ($5.2-10.5/t) for all grades at all works effective from 1 July arrivals.
Tokyo Steel added ¥1,000/t to purchases at its Utsunomiya plant in the northern Kanto and ¥500/t to those at its other plants.
“Scrap generation is very low right across Japan but especially in the Kanto area,” a Tokyo-based trader tells
Steel Business Briefing, adding that he has heard of Kanto mills offering higher under-the-table prices in order to secure deliveries. “The Utsunomiya plant must be having difficulties to collecting scrap.”
Domestic scrap prices have been increasing, pulled by strong scrap exports, but the pace has slowed now. But supporting the firm market continues to be the limited volumes of scrap being generated.
JFE Steel’s Kurashiki works in western Japan restarted buying scrap from June, and Nippon Steel’s Nagoya works will also restart buying scrap from this month. The purchase volumes for both blast furnaces will not be much but, against the backdrop of low generation and tight domestic supply, this is another factor supporting higher prices, the trader notes.
Tokyo Steel’s buying price for grade H2 scrap at its Okayama and Kyushu plants becomes ¥25,500/t ($267.5/t) while those at Takamatsu and Utsunomiya will be ¥25,000/t and ¥26,000/t respectively.
Wednesday,July 1, 2009
Hyundai Steel cut its domestic scrap buying prices for all grades by up to KRW 15,000/tonne ($12/t) from 29 June. The main reasons the Korean mill cites are sufficient inventories and low seasonal demand. Another price reduction may be announced in July depending on scrap market conditions, Hyundai warns.
With the price cut, Hyundai's new buying price for Shindachi grade is KRW 300-320,000/t ($233-248/t), down from KRW 315-335,000/t two weeks ago. Korea’s largest scrap consumer clipped its scrap prices twice this month – on 15 and 29 June – paring buying prices by a total of with KRW 30,000/t ($23/t).
“By mid-July, we are considering decreasing our scrap buying prices again but are still deciding the cutback margin,” a Hyundai source tells Steel Business Briefing.
Following Hyundai, other Korean EAF makers also lowered their scrap buying prices. Korea Iron & Steel (Kisco) in Changwon near of Busan dropped its prices by KRW 5,000-15,000/t ($4-12/t) depending on grade, also effective 29 June.
Meanwhile, scrap exporters to Korea can expect reduced business in coming as the mini mills halt operations for annual summer maintenance. Imports are likely to dip below 700,000 t during July-August, compared with import volumes of 770,000 t and 790,000 t of April and May respectively, a scrap trader in Seoul says.
Hyundai is slated to begin annual summer repairs at its three plants in Incheon, Pohang and Dangjin from late July to August. The specific dates are unavailable for now but the stoppages would last 3-10 days depending on the facilities, the company spokesman tells SBB.