Prices for cargoes of steel scrap in Japan continued their upward march over the past week, with domestic steelmakers and export docks now fighting for material.
Japanese steel scrap prices have been buoyed in recent weeks, with strong demand in Vietnam and South Korea adding to ever-tighter supply-side conditions.
Fastmarkets' price assessment for
steel scrap H2, export, fob main port Japan, was ?33,500-34,000 ($321-326) per tonne on Wednesday December 2, up by ?1,000 per tonne from ?32,500-33,000 per tonne a week earlier.
Offers for H2 were heard at ?34,000-35,000 per tonne fob, with buyers in South Korea said to be interested at a maximum price of ?33,500 per tonne fob.
"Exporters are focusing on collecting cargoes for outstanding contracts rather than on selling new ones," a Japanese scrapyard source said.
"When...