Spot prices for Japanese exported scrap slid this week, reflecting weak demand from overseas buyers, market sources told Fastmarkets.
But the end of the summer maintenance season at many domestic mills is set to shore up demand and spot prices in the coming weeks.
Demand from key overseas market such as Vietnam and Taiwan remained very weak due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the former and cheaper container cargoes in the latter in previous weeks.
"It's really only South Korea in the spot market now for export cargoes," a Japanese trader told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 1.
A major South Korean steel mill had purchased bulk Japanese H2 at ?44,000 ($399.45) per tonne late on Monday.
But Taiwan has started to return to the Japanese...