Demand for imported steel scrap in South Korea has continued to rise despite the closure of an electric-arc furnace (EAF) in the country and a sharp jump in prices from key supplier markets, sources said on Thursday October 14.
An EAF owned by a medium-sized South Korean steelmaker has been closed due to an accident at the plant, Fastmarkets first heard on October 5.
Sources told Fastmarkets that the producer had since stopped buying steel scrap, and that the outage might last until the end of 2021.
A Japanese trading source said that two other South Korean steelmakers had been purchasing scrap on behalf of that mill, and producing steel to satisfy the first mill's orders, although this information was not confirmed by other sources.
Rising costs
A rise in...