The Japan Iron and Steel Recycling Industry Association (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo) announced the domestic iron scrap market information on November 1.
The domestic steel scrap market in October has been further reduced by the slowdown that has continued since March. The H2 price level at the end of the month is 22,000 yen to 23,000 yen in the Kanto region, and 22,000 to 22,500 yen in the Kansai region, which is about 1,000 yen lower than the end of the previous month.
This is due to a decline in crude steel production in both blast furnaces and electric furnaces, and in particular, electric furnace steel production has decreased by about 5% compared to the previous year, leading to a decline in demand for iron scrap. Overseas, the operating rate in the United States is gradually declining, and the composite price has dropped $ 35 a month.
On the other hand, the price of Deep Sea (large cargo ship transportation) for Turkey and Southeast Asia has bottomed out and has risen by about US $ 25 for Turkey, as well as the same price for offshore goods for Vietnam, and $ 15 for container cargo for Taiwan. It ’s up and it ’s going to rise. Along with this, inquiries from Vietnam and Taiwan to Japan-made H2 have started, and some have been reported back. However, Korean consumers are not responding to the increase in Japanese H2 prices due to abundant inventory.
In this way, domestic demand that lacks excitement and an export environment with some bottoming out coexist, and the future is difficult to predict.
