Japan scrap price rises for April export, no change at home

The winning bid in the tender held Tuesday by the Kanto Tetsugen grouping of scrap dealers around Tokyo for Japanese H2 grade scrap for export in April was Yen 44,226/tonne FAS ($303/t), which was higher by Yen 1,026/t from the top bid last month for current month shipments, the group announced. It's the first increase in two months.

The price was significantly higher than what traders are currently paying for H2 material delivered to Tokyo Bay for export and shipping to western Japan, a factor that may prompt mini-mills in the Kanto Plain's Tokyo-Yokohama-Saitama belt to raise their scrap purchase prices if they want collectors to supply