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Recent South Korean bookings of bulk heavy melting scrap cargoes from the US on Friday reflect further softening of the East Asian scrap market.

On Friday, South Korea's Hyundai Steel ordered a West Coast US cargo of around 48,000 mt, at $221/mt CIF for HMS I basis, trading sources in Seoul said. On the same day, another South Korean mill, Dongkuk Steel Mill also purchased around 35,000 mt for HMS I at the same price, they added. Both cargoes are for November arrival and are from two different US suppliers, Platts was told.

Two weeks ago, Hyundai booked 30,000 mt of A3 scrap from Russia at $227/mt CFR Pohang. Dongkuk also made a Russian A3 bulk scrap purchase at the same price around the same time.

As reported, market participants said that weak demand for construction steel products and falling Chinese billet prices have dampened market sentiment for scrap.

Earlier this week on Monday, a Vietnamese mill ordered a West Coast US cargo, of around 30,000 mt, at $230/mt CFR Phu My for HMS I/II 80:20 basis, and at $235/mt CFR for shredded on Monday for end-October/early November shipment.

S&P Global Platts assessed its East Asian bulk HMS I/II 80:20 scrap assessment to $229-231/mt CFR Wednesday, down from $235-237/mt CFR. The implied midpoint of $230 was $6 lower from the previous midpoint of $236.