JAPAN STEEL SCRAP: Soaring export prices become too high for buyers

Japanese steel scrap prices have jumped again over the past week amid tightening supply but buyers are unwilling to accept the fresh price increases, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 10.

Tight supply of H2 heavy scrap has resulted in further increases in scrap buying prices at Japanese mills over the past week, together with a sharp rise in sales prices at the Kanto Tetsugen auction for scrap exports on Wednesday.
Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap H2, export, fob main port Japan was ?26,500-27,000 ($246-250) per tonne on June 10, up by ?2,000 per tonne from a week earlier.
H2 offer prices climbed up ?2,000 week on week to ?27,000-27,500 per tonne fob on Wednesday. But bids from buyers - heard at ?24,500-25,000 per tonne fob - rose by only ?500 per tonne week on week.
This large bid-offer gap has caused a gridlock in the market this week, sources said, with Japanese exporters unable to book new deals.

"Japan is struggling to gather scrap at the port and at factories. That's why the...

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