No new deep sea
scrap transaction has been heard in
Turkey after the two deals concluded at the beginning of May, while both buyers and sellers in the Turkish import
scrap market have adopted a cautious stance.
Many
scrap suppliers are holding back their offers for
Turkey due to the absence of buyers, while only a few
scrap suppliers are testing the market with their offers. The latest import
scrap offer to
Turkey has been given by a supplier in the Baltic region for shredded
scrap at $260/mt CFR, while some other suppliers in the same region state they may be willing to conclude
scrap deals at this price level.
Scrap suppliers state that Turkish steel producers have gone through the month of May almost without concluding
scrap deals, while they believe that the Turkish mills should now restart their deep sea
scrap purchases. However, SteelOrbis has been informed that, due to Turkish steelmakers' lack of interest,
scrap suppliers are waiting for buyers to approach them with a price idea and shipment date, rather than giving offers to the market.
Meanwhile, Turkish steel mills state that most
scrap suppliers have cargos ready for sale. As a result, the Turkish mills are in no rush to conclude new
scrap transactions, while they also believe that they can conclude import
scrap purchases way below the currently heard price levels. However, the Turkish steel mills continue to maintain a wait-and-see approach since their priority is to see improvements in their finished steel sales which are currently stagnant despite the declines recorded in finished steel quotations. The mills have also indicated that they can manage with domestic and short sea
scrap purchases for now. The lack of interest in
scrap purchases on the part of Turkish mills has been reflected at the BIR (Bureau of International Recycling) Convention, with only two Turkish steel producers attending the event.
Turkish steel mills' current rebar export offers are in the range of $440-470/mt FOB. While buyers state they know they can conclude purchases of Turkish rebar below this price range, they are unwilling to conclude deals for Turkish rebar before Turkish mills'
scrap purchase quotations become clearer. Accordingly, activity in the Turkish steel market has drawn to a standstill and a nervous waiting mood continues to be observed in the market.
On the other hand, Chinese suppliers have adjusted their billet export offers downwards by $15/mt week on week to $290-300/mt FOB.