Daily Steel News - 31 Jan 11

SBB Prices & Indexes
World price +/-
World HRC $/t 772 +84
World Rebar $/t 741 +73

E. Asian scrap import market slows down ahead of holidays
The scrap import market in east Asia was quiet last week as the region prepared for lunar new year holidays. Offers are very limited and buying interest is reduced. Most traders describe the current market as soft and weak; others say that the market is flat. But the current lull is expected to be temporary because the regional mils have not been actively importing and will need to replenish their scrap inventories. Offer prices for bulk scrap composite 80:20 HMS 1&2 and shredded were prevailing last week at around $510/tonne cfr Singapore/Malaysia. A regional trader says that offers would be around $500/t cfr to Northeast Asia, and that prices have come off by $5-10/t from recent peaks. A bulk cargo of 30,000-35,000 t of scrap from Hong Kong was booked at an effective $505/t cfr Malaysia. It comprised mostly HMS and some Bonus (plate and structural). Traders tell Steel Business Briefing that the deal was done two to three weeks ago. The regional containerised scrap import market is also weak. A Taiwanese mill reportedly booked 3,000 t of 80:20 from west coast USA at $455/t cfr late last week, down
from another import booking by another local mill at $460/t cfr the previous week. In Vietnam, SBB is told of a booking last week of containerized scrap from Australia at $473/t cfr for 80:20 and $478/t cfr for shredded. Market sources report that they have hardly any bulk offers to Vietnam recently. Offers for small bulk cargoes of 2,000-5,000 t were last heard at around $500/t cfr and bigger bulk cargoes at $520-530/t cfr.

Turkish, Indian scrap import prices ease back off highs: TSI
Turkish and Indian scrap reference prices released by The Steel Index (TSI) last Friday both fell slightly after hitting peak prices recently. However, both reference prices are around 5% higher than four weeks earlier. The Turkish import price for HMS1&2 80:20 dropped $8/t last week to $496/tonne CFR Turkish port, as those buyers in the deep-sea market booked European material which was cheaper than US-origin offers. This is $21/t above the level published four weeks previously. The Indian containerised shredded scrap import price was almost unchanged at $482/tonne CFR Nhava Sheva port, a dip of 0.2% since a week earlier, as buyers rejected the higher American offers. The next scrap reference price to be launched by TSI will be for US domestic shredded obsolete scrap. This is currently undergoing the validation phase, during which TSI collects data and calculates the reference price unofficially. TSI advised, for the week ending January 28, that US domestic scrap price also decreased slightly to $474/long ton, which is $14/lt higher than four weeks ago. TSI is majority-owned by Steel Business Briefing and specialises in compiling steel, iron ore and scrap TSI is majority-owned by Steel Business Briefing and specialises in compiling steel, iron ore and scrap reference prices by collecting and averaging actual transaction data. Further details of the methodology and specifications for the steel, iron ore and scrap grades covered can be found on the website www.thesteelindex.com. Companies wishing to subscribe to TSI's full set of reference prices or to apply to submit steel, iron ore or scrap price data can do so on the website.