SteelOrbis has been informed that the Russian Federal Customs Service has increased the base export price for scrap to $510/mt FOB.
As a result of the increase, the 15 percent export duty to be paid over the new base price has increased to $76.5/mt.
This increase in the base export price for scrap is considered by many as a provisional mechanism designed to discourage scrap exports till the Russian government takes its final decision regarding its recently declared intention to increase the current scrap export duty.
As previously reported, at the end of July, the Russian government announced its intention to increase the country's scrap export duty. Although the level of the increase may be as large as eight-fold, the value of the new duty is yet to be determined by the government.