China’s return to scrap imports seen unlikely to help costs, EAF growth

摘要

China’s move to allow ferrous scrap imports to restart in January is likely to have a limited impact on domestic steelmaking costs, constrained by the lack of scrap available globally to import, market sources said Jan. 13. While the more optimistic sources said scrap imports could reach 10 million mt/year in 2021 if domestic steel margins remain strong, others expected the volume would be well below 10 million mt as recovering overseas demand for scrap has pushed up seaborne scrap prices. “Even if there is policy support, scrap imports won’t be too high as there is limited Asian scrap trade volumes,” an east coast-based steelmaker said.