Turkey’s ex-US scrap price has remained stable in another deal, one that confirms that the market’s price range has returned to $378-383/mt CFR.
SteelOrbis has learned that the ex-US scrap booking in question was done by a producer in the Marmara region for 18,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $383/mt CFR and 12,000 mt of shredded scrap at $403/mt CFR. This level indicates that US suppliers are willing to accept the current price levels.
European scrap exporters are still paying €315-320/mt DAP for scrap collection. With the dollar at 1.077 against the euro, the current scrap price levels from Europe on CFR Turkey basis are barely acceptable to sellers. Shortages of scrap continue to be observed in the EU. Hence, market players in the EU expect domestic scrap prices in the region to move up. Despite the slow flow of scrap, Turkish mills’ rebar prices do not support a significant recovery of scrap prices in the short term. 12 mm rebar spot prices in Turkey have remained stable at TRY 22,900-23,700/mt or $591-612/mt ex-warehouse. Icdas has kept its official dollar-based rebar price stable at $620/mt ex-works. Although the general official rebar price range in the Marmara and Izmir regions varies at $590-610/mt ex-works, the workable rebar price still seems close to the lower end. Several market sources agree that the stalemate in Turkey’s import scrap and domestic rebar markets in terms of demand and profitability continues. Some sources believe that Turkish mills may cut production capacity utilization rates in order to lower raw material costs and to avoid excess finished steel outputs.