Due to expectations of a price softening, Turkish mills, which are in need of prompt shipments for scrap, have not yet started to conclude scrap transactions. Most scrap suppliers from Europe and the US are ready for sales without preliminarily setting any price level - as Turkish mills have not been willing to make purchases and also due to the strength of the US dollar against the euro. In this context, expectations for a price decrease have gained strength. Turkish steel producers are waiting for ex-Europe scrap prices to decrease initially and then to see if ex-US scrap offers, which have remained neutral for some weeks, will follow this downward price trend. On the other hand, Turkish mills are cautious about concluding scrap deals as the finished steel market has remained stagnant.
With decline of the US dollar-euro exchange rate to 1.26 as of today, May 16, mills' general price anticipation for ex-Europe HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices is not higher than $430-433/mt CFR. In the meantime, taking these price levels as a base, mills believe that ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices should be ranging at $440-445/mt CFR, but not higher that this level. While Turkish mills have expectations for these price levels, no new offers have been heard to confirm these levels yet. On the other side, some ex-US scrap deals to the Far East have been heard from market sources.