FOCUS: Japan diverts billet supply to SE Asia amid falling scrap market

摘要

In a rare move, Japan has started selling steel billet to Southeast Asia amid diving scrap prices in the country’s domestic market. Steel mills in the Tokyo area have started channeling shipments of the semi-finished product to Southeast Asia, where buyers are prepared to pay higher prices than Japanese re-rollers, market sources said. While the sale of Japanese billet to Southeast Asia is not unprecedented, it is indeed not commonly seen. It typically takes place during periods when domestic prices in Japan are too low for billet producers in the country.