During the past week, the import
scrap market in
Turkey has remained quiet in terms of activity. Turkish steel producers, who had concluded many import
scrap deals during the first half of November, seem to have withdrawn from the import
scrap market, focusing instead on the finished steel markets and waiting for a clearer picture of these markets before deciding to step up their
scrap purchases. Some Turkish steel producers are still making inquiries for import
scrap to see what response they will receive from
scrap suppliers, but these inquiries are not leading to deals.
The most recent ex-
Europe deal for HMS I/II 75:25
scrap in
Turkey was concluded last week at $190/mt CFR, while the latest deals from US and the Baltic region for HMS I/II 80:20
scrap were concluded two weeks ago in the range of $197.5-200/mt CFR. No new
scrap deals from these regions have been heard in
Turkey since then. At present, Turkish steel producers' price expectations for import
scrap are below these levels.
Turkish steel producers have continued to purchase small tonnages of
scrap from the Black Sea region over the past week. Although Black Sea
scrap suppliers' offers to
Turkey are in the range of $197-198/mt CFR, actual deals have been concluded at levels of $192-193/mt CFR.
Moreover, Turkish steel producers' demand for deep sea
scrap is at very low levels, while they have concluded deals for small tonnages of short sea
scrap only if they are offered attractive deals. On the other hand, Turkish steelmakers have increased their inquiries for billet imports. However, Chinese billet offers to
Turkey at $255-265/mt CFR are higher than Turkish steelmakers' target purchase prices which are at levels below $250/mt CFR. It is obvious that Turkish steel producers will only accept
scrap offers lower than the price ranges seen in the most recent
scrap deals given the increasing downward pressure on
scrap prices amid quiet demand as well as rising inquiries for Chinese billet.