South Korean Steel Mills Book Bulk Scrap Cargoes; Prices Down

South Korean steel mills have bought multiple bulk cargoes at corrected prices this week. Scrap purchase enquiries from US, Russia and Japan to South East Asian markets increased and steel mills remained in search for bulk cargoes at reasonable prices.

Hyundai Steel Books Russian bulk scrap cargo - South Korea’s leading EAF steelmaker - Hyundai Steel has booked another bulk scrap cargo for Mar’19 delivery. The company recently contracted for a bulk scrap vessel from Russia equivalent to A3 at USD 301/MT, CFR South Korea.

Hyundai Steel's scrap import prices from Russia have moved down by USD 28/MT as against the last Russian bulk contract concluded at USD 329/MT, CFR. Russian scrap suppliers were looking for higher prices amid tight supply however, South Korean steel mills held prices low amid falling global scrap prices.

According to reports, Hyundai Steel has booked another bulk scrap cargo in a one weeks’ time amid sharply falling scrap inventories. With the arrival of earlier purchased cargoes and bulk purchases made this week, Hyundai Steel’s scrap inventories seem sufficient for the near terms.

Dongkuk Steel Books US bulk scrap cargo at further corrected price - South Korean another leading EAF steelmaker - Dongkuk Steel has booked a bulk scrap cargo from US. SIMS metal company from US sold a total 28,000 MT vessel comprising HMS 1 equivalent at USD 308/MT, CFR South Korea. The composition of a cargo reported as 16,000 MT of HMS 1&2 (80:20), 8,000 MT of Shredded and 4,000 MT of Bonus.

As compared with last US bulk deal of Hyundai Steel at USD 311/MT, CFR, the prices have declined further by USD 3/MT. This cargo is scheduled for March delivery. Now, Dongkuk Steel will witness the arrival of 32,000 MT scrap cargo in Feb'19 and 28,000 MT cargo scrap in Mar’19.

Vietnamese steel mills heard actively seeking for scrap cargoes and continued negotiations for Japanese H2 at range-bound levels. Offers for Japanese H2 reported steady in the range of USD 295-300/MT, CFR Vietnam.