Chinese steel scrap prices down
2023-03-22 07:50:14 [Print]
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 22 Mar 23 - Discouraged by lower prices of steel products, Chinese steel scrap market performed inactively amid falling prices this week. On Tuesday the mainstream prices of steel scrap HMS 6mm stood at RMB2,980-3,030/t (USD433-441/t) Ex-VAT delivered D/P, down by RMB30/t (USD4/t) from late last week. Upon tight supply but weakening demand from steel mills, insiders predict steel scrap prices would stabilize in the coming week.
A consumption in Tianjin revealed that he bought around 100t of steel scrap HMS 6mm at RMB2,990/t (USD435/t) Ex-VAT delivered D/P, while he last bought around 120t of the material at RMB3,020/t (USD439/t) late last week. "Our suppliers became active in selling last week seeing prices show some signs of going down, while the supply became tight this week, though prices continued on the decline," he said, adding that he could buy around 2,000t of steel scrap in one day this week, down from 3,000t last week. As steel prices continued going down while supply of steel scrap reduced, he is of the opinion that steel scrap prices would level off in coming days of this week.
The company owns an annual consumption capacity of 750,000t for steel scrap and used almost 700,000t of the material in 2022. It estimated the consumption amount would reach about 65,000t in March, similar to February. It has an inventory of around 15,000t at present, up by 5,000t from two weeks ago.
A trader in Fujian reported that he sold around 50t of steel scrap HMS 6mm at RMB3,000/t (USD436/t) Ex-VAT delivered D/P on Tuesday, while he refused to sell with prices below RMB3,030/t (USD440/t) late last week. "We had to lower prices of steel scrap as steel prices went down by nearly RMB100/t (USD15/t) in recent one week," he said. However, the supply of steel scrap reduced during this time. He only has an inventory of almost 1,000t at present, down by 1,000t from one week ago. Upon weakening demand but reducing supply, he deems that steel scrap prices would stabilize in the coming week.
With a sales amount of approximately 50,000t in 2022, the company sold about 5,000t of steel scrap in the first two months of this year and estimated the sales volume would reach about 3,000t in March, in line with February.
A consumption in Tianjin revealed that he bought around 100t of steel scrap HMS 6mm at RMB2,990/t (USD435/t) Ex-VAT delivered D/P, while he last bought around 120t of the material at RMB3,020/t (USD439/t) late last week. "Our suppliers became active in selling last week seeing prices show some signs of going down, while the supply became tight this week, though prices continued on the decline," he said, adding that he could buy around 2,000t of steel scrap in one day this week, down from 3,000t last week. As steel prices continued going down while supply of steel scrap reduced, he is of the opinion that steel scrap prices would level off in coming days of this week.
The company owns an annual consumption capacity of 750,000t for steel scrap and used almost 700,000t of the material in 2022. It estimated the consumption amount would reach about 65,000t in March, similar to February. It has an inventory of around 15,000t at present, up by 5,000t from two weeks ago.
A trader in Fujian reported that he sold around 50t of steel scrap HMS 6mm at RMB3,000/t (USD436/t) Ex-VAT delivered D/P on Tuesday, while he refused to sell with prices below RMB3,030/t (USD440/t) late last week. "We had to lower prices of steel scrap as steel prices went down by nearly RMB100/t (USD15/t) in recent one week," he said. However, the supply of steel scrap reduced during this time. He only has an inventory of almost 1,000t at present, down by 1,000t from one week ago. Upon weakening demand but reducing supply, he deems that steel scrap prices would stabilize in the coming week.
With a sales amount of approximately 50,000t in 2022, the company sold about 5,000t of steel scrap in the first two months of this year and estimated the sales volume would reach about 3,000t in March, in line with February.
