FLASH: Tender price for Japanese H2 scrap for export surges by $13/t

The increase represented the eighth consecutive monthly increase and was only just below the all-time high reached in July 2024 of Yen 52,168/t, Mysteel Global notes.

The top price is also considerably higher than the level of around Yen 47,000/t that traders were paying as of last Friday for material shipping through Tokyo Bay for export and for supply to mills in western Japan, reflecting the shortage of available scrap currently, Japanese sources say.

Tuesday's auction attracted 15 bids from traders seeking to buy around 150,000 tonnes. The Kanto Tetsugen said the 20,000 tonnes of scrap its members awarded the winner – the same tonnage as last month and the month before – are destined for either Vietnam or Bangladesh.

Although the grouping never names the trader submitting the winning bid, Mysteel Global understands it was JFE Steel's trading arm, JFE Shoji. By coincidence, on March 10 JFE Shoji announced that it will open a representative office in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, from next month "to help accelerate decision-making and improve services," the company said.

Meanwhile, Japanese industry watchers expect Tokyo Steel Manufacturing, the country's largest independent mini-mill, to announce an increase in its buying prices for domestic scrap in response to the Kanto Tetsugen's higher export prices.

Written by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com

Edited by Alyssa Ren, rentingting@mysteel.com