Turkish steel mills have started their
scrap bookings for August shipments and now new transactions are being heard.
In an
ex-US scrap transaction this week, the price of HMS I/II 80:20 stood at $372/mt CFR
Turkey. Some Turkish mills prefer to book
scrap for prompt shipment as they are in urgent need of
scrap. Accordingly, a Turkish mill has concluded a transaction for
an ex-UK scrap cargo for prompt shipment, with the price of HMS I/II 80:20 standing at $370/mt CFR. According to these transactions, the price of ex-
US scrap for
Turkey has risen by $1-3/mt compared to the previous
scrap transaction prices, while ex-UK
scrap prices for
Turkey have remained unchanged.
Prior to the most recent bookings, Turkish mills were expecting hefty discounts in
scrap prices for August shipments, since the finished steel markets are still characterized by sluggishness and also due to some steel mills' production cuts. However, the
scrap price realized in the most recent ex-
US transaction mentioned above proves that Turkish steel mills have failed to achieve the discounts they were expecting. On the contrary, the
scrap price trend now seems to have started to move on an upward trend.
On the other hand,
US domestic scrap prices are reported to be showing signs of an uptrend and the suppliers of ex-
US scrap are focusing more on their own domestic market and on markets other than
Turkey. In the meantime, since European steel mills are paying good prices for
scrap cargoes,
scrap suppliers in
Europe also prefer to sell
scrap in their domestic market. Consequently, Turkish mills are facing greater difficulties in obtaining supplies of
scrap imports. Since Turkish mills are continuing their inquiries for
scrap despite the ongoing negative situation in the finished steel markets,
scrap suppliers have sufficient support to maintain their prices.