The absence of sufficient export scrap demand is placing slight downward pressure on US East coast domestic scrap pricing during the current month’s buy cycle.
The East coast scrap market is currently trading soft to sideways for cuts and shredded and down $10-20/mt for primes and is expected to settle on Monday. Buyers in the Midwest entered the market yesterday; that market is expected to settle early next week.
Since mid-July, Ex-US scrap cargo booking prices to Turkish steelmakers have reflected a $13/mt increase across all grades from levels recorded in the early part of that same month, but due to the absence of sufficient export demand by Turkey this week, scrap prices are expected to settle slightly down for the August buy cycle.
Additionally, sources close to the market have informed SteelOrbis that some US domestic mills have decreased their demand further than expected either due to a revised maintenance schedule or inventory reduction strategy.
While demand for prime grades remains strong and consistent into August, pressure on pricing is primarily due to a substantial increase in supply of busheling into the US market from the EU and UK.
July scrap prices in the East coast settled for HMS 80:20 scrap at $188/mt, HMS I scrap at $198/mt, shredded scrap at $229/mt, busheling at $254/mt, and P&S at $203-208/mt, delivered to the mill. In the Midwest, prices settled for HMS I scrap at $233-243/mt, shredded scrap at $244-249/mt, busheling at $285-290/mt and P&S at $240-244/mt, delivered to the mill.