Scrap Stocks Carried by Steel Mills will Rise Slightly in the near Future when the Scrap Supply Grows

SHANGHAI, Mar 14 (SMM) - The average daily steel scrap arrival across 110 steel mills surveyed by SMM stood at 176,500 mt in February, up 54.8% from January when the figure was 114,000 mt. As of February 28, the steel scrap inventory carried by the mainstream steel mills was 2.08 million mt, up 10% MoM. In February, the average daily arrival of steel scrap at steel mills increased greatly, which was contributed by the active purchases from the mills after the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday and the high steel prices in the month. However, as the scrap suppliers were reluctant to sell, the growth of arrivals was restricted. Although the steel mills were active in buying scrap, they still kept their in-plant inventories of scrap at a mid and low level to control costs. Recently, scrap inventories held by processing bases have grown sharply, pushing the scrap supply. The scrap stocks carried by steel mills will rise slightly in the near future.