JAPAN STEEL SCRAP: Strong S Korean market forces up export prices

Export prices for Japanese steel scrap have continued to rise over the past week amid high demand from South Korea as well as local buyers in Japan, sources told Fastmarkets.

The scrap export market for Japan resembled a tug-of-war last week, with a major South Korean buyer lowering its bid prices by ?1,000 ($9) per tonne while the outcome of the June 9 auction of the Kanto Tetsugen - a cooperative of scrap dealers in Tokyo and the region surrounding it - caused sellers to raise their offer prices.
This week, it became clear that the sell side had won the battle this time, with the South Korean buyer raising its bids by ?4,000 per tonne week on week for high-grade scrap, and other South Korean steelmakers paying even higher prices for similar material.
Tokyo Steel, a key domestic scrap buyer in Japan, has not issued any official price increase notice since May 18, but sources said their buy prices are, in some areas, still higher than the levels Japanese sellers can secure from exporting.

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