Japanese scrap export prices seem set for slide

When Japanese scrap dealers in the Kanto area around Tokyo gather on Friday morning to examine bids from traders for H2 grade scrap for export through Tokyo Bay next month, the winning bid will almost certainly be lower than last month's and will make for the third straight on-month decline. An assortment of domestic and external factors almost guarantees another fall.

In last month's auction held by the Kanto Tetsugen grouping of scrap dealers in the Tokyo, Yokohama and Saitama areas, the top bid was Yen 52,508/tonne FAS ($333/t), lower by a large Yen 1,998/t from the top price in the June tender, as Mysteel Global reported. And in last month's