Electricity Curtailments Impacting Asian Scrap Markets

The finished steel stockists have been buying finished products the last two weeks.   However, the stockists are still keeping very little inventory on a wait and see mode due to the iron ore price collapse (currently abt $102/dmt).   The current finished product orders should keep the production smooth for the next 3 weeks in China.

Taiwan has been on summer electricity curtailments (no day shift) since May 10th and consequently there is a drop of 30 percent in production.   It is also a main cause why the steel stockists started some buying.   Korea will go on summer electricity curtailments in June.