By Anil Mathews (ScrapMonster Author)

November 02, 2015 07:47:35 AM

The steel mills in Eastern China region have announced to keep the scrap purchasing prices unchanged during the week. The prices continued to stay at 10-year lows.Rise in rebar price arrests further fall in ferrous scrap prices

BEIJING (Scrap Monster):  The steel mills in Eastern China region have decided to keep their scrap purchasing prices unchanged, mainly on account of rising rebar prices. The scrap prices continued to trade at ten-year lows. The good thing is that further fall in scrap prices were arrested.

Jiangsu Shagang Group announced that scrap purchasing prices will remain flat when compared with the previous week. The company had announced cut of Yuan 20 per mt in scrap buying prices last Wednesday. After the announcement, the purchasing price for heavy melting scrap with thickness 6mm and above by Shagang Group now stands at Yuan 1,160 per mt, inclusive of VAT delivered to Zhangjiagang, flat from the previous week.

Yonggang Group in the same province also kept the scrap purchasing prices unchanged during the week. After announcement, the scrap buying prices of heavy melting scrap at least 8 mm thickness delivered to Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province now stands at Yuan 1,220/mt.

Dongfang Special Steel which had announced cut of Yuan 20 per mt in purchasing price of heavy melting scrap of thickness 6 mm and above last week had stayed out of the market this week. Changzhou-based Zenith Steel too stayed out of the market, announcing its decision to stop scrap purchases for the time being.

Also, Maanshan Iron & Steel has decided to keep its scrap buying prices flat during the week. After the announcement, the company’s buy price for plate cut-offs with thickness 6mm and above now stands at Yuan 1,210 per mt, inclusive of VAT for deliveries to Maanshan.

Traders in the region stated that it is quite unpredictable to forecast the direction of scrap prices. Further fall in iron ore prices may take the prices further down, but rising rebar prices may lend support to scrap prices at least in the near term.