Scrap suppliers in the Black Sea region have not been able to compete with current price levels in the Turkish market due to the ongoing declines seen in
scrap prices and so they are now staying out of the market. The lowest ex-Black Sea
scrap offers to
Turkey for A3 grade
scrap are currently in the range of $190-195/mt CFR. On the other hand, Turkish producers state that there are ex-US offers for HMS I/II 80:20
scrap at $180/mt CFR, and, accordingly, that ex-Black Sea offers should be lower than $180/mt CFR or at least at $180/mt CFR, while they are refusing to pay higher prices. Black Sea
scrap suppliers have stayed out of the export markets since they are unable to meet buyers' requests for price reductions due to their high
scrap collection costs and they prefer to focus on sales of lower tonnages in their domestic market. Besides,
scrap suppliers in the Black Sea region also state that each day their sales prices drop a little further below
scrap collection costs due to the continuing downtrend of
scrap prices and that their
scrap collecting activity has slowed down for this reason. Also, collectors say that they cannot resume their activities unless
scrap prices first gain stability.