According to some Vietnam market sources, China billet purchases and the shortage in scrap supply have continued to drive up Vietnam steel scrap price.
1. Recent trades in the scrap market shows an increase in scrap price
Two weeks ago, a major scrapyard had sold 02 bulk cargoes from the United States West Coast and Australia at $339 and $342 per tonne cfr Vietnam respectively. However, the transaction news was only heard in the spot market earlier last week. One cargo had been sold to a steel mill in northern Vietnam, and the other’s new address has yet to be confirmed.
From the US West Coast, deep-sea bulk HMS 1&2 (80:20) cargoes were offered at $355 per tonne cfr Vietnam. The sellers had raised the offers due to the spike in Turkish import prices, which have been increased to $334.87 per tonne cfr Turkey for US-origin materials.
Meanwhile, there were some bids at $349 per tonne cfr Vietnam, though the quantity was limited.
2. Difficulties for Vietnamese scrap buyers
A major said that the current price was too high for Vietnamese buyers. Not many buyers would be interested in deep-sea bulk cargoes at high offers. In the containerized market, containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) was sold at $310 per tonne cfr Vietnam.
According to the recent report of the steel scrap deep-sea bulk cargoes price, there was an uptrend in HMS 1&2 (80:20) cfr Vietnam. From $320-330 per tonne a week earlier, it increased $25-29 per tonne to $349-355 per tonne. This change is in line with the shortage of domestic scrap since the buyers are hard-pressed to find materials from local suppliers.
A Vietnamese scrap trader believed that the steel mills were trying to purchase domestic materials. However, the supply is limited because there is a limited collection. In southern Vietnam, the prices were at 6,700-6,800 dong per kg ($289-293 per tonne). Meanwhile, it costs 7,000-7,200 dong per kg in northern Vietnam for 3mm scrap.
3. Prices from Japanese supplies also raise by 5-10$ per tonne
Another choice for Vietnam scrap buyers is from Japan. According to recent trades, Japanese H2 material was at $335-340 per tonne cfr southern Vietnam. However, it increased to $345 per tonne cfr southern Vietnam, since last Friday.
Some transactions were made at $335 per tonne cfr Vietnam in the earlier part of last week while some bids were at $330-333 per tonne cfr Vietnam. Due to the high prices, some buyers chose to stay on the sidelines.
For a 10,000-tonne Japan H1&H2 (50:50) cargo, there was a transaction at $345 per tonne cfr Vietnam. Normally, the price for such materials is around 340$ and bids are at 335$ per tonne cfr Vietnam. Towards the end of last week, offers started to increase.
4. High grade shredded scrap price also records a change up
In the earlier part of the week, high-grade Japanese shredded scrap was offered at $355 per tonne cfr northern Vietnam. Meanwhile, it was $370 per tonne cfr northern Vietnam fob Japanese HS scrap.
An experienced trader in Vietnam shared his point of view that these uptrends in prices were caused by China purchasing billets from Vietnam. Others also shared that China had purchased Vietnamese billets at $485 per tonne cfr, which is equivalent to $470-475 per tonne fob Vietnam.
Source: Fastmarkets.com
