Vietnamese steelmakers were mostly holding off on imported scrap over 19-23 May on the back of sufficient inventory and a waning upward momentum of steel prices.

The Argus HMS 1/2 80:20 cfr Vietnam bulk scrap assessment stood at $345/t this week.

The indicative price of deep-sea cargoes was still at around $350/t cfr for HMS 1/2 80:20, while Vietnamese mills kept price ideas at below $340/t cfr, citing the stable Turkish imported scrap price and unchanged Vietnamese domestic steel market. Turkish steel mills resisted further price increases for ferrous scrap after fulfilling the restocking demand.

Vietnamese domestic steel prices were flat this week after rising in the first two weeks of May. "Mills' profit margins are still thin, they need to see steel prices rise further before paying higher for ferrous scrap," a local trader said.

Offers of short-sea bulk cargoes were at $325-330/t cfr Vietnam for Japanese H2, and mills bid at $315-320/t this week.