At the beginning of last week,
US-based
scrap suppliers targeted levels above $290/mt CFR in their offers to the Turkish import
scrap market. However, with demand for finished steel in the local Turkish market declining, Turkish producers refused to conclude new deals at the price levels in question. Accordingly, import
scrap prices were expected to decrease. As we had foreseen, a Turkish producer concluded an ex-
US deal in the middle of last week for HMS I/II 80:20 at $285/mt CFR, indicating a fall of $4-5/mt compared to the previous
scrap deals concluded a week earlier. With this transaction, import
scrap prices in
Turkey were thought to be softening after their rising trend in the first half of May.
The import
scrap market in
Turkey has made a very quiet start to the current week, with no new transactions heard yet. Turkish producers are very cautious about purchasing
scrap since their rebar sales have slowed down over the past 10 days, while they expect lower import
scrap prices from suppliers. However,
scrap suppliers are not under any sales pressure after their sales concluded so far in May and they are sticking to their current price levels. Some
US-based
scrap suppliers are focusing on North African countries since the latter are paying higher prices for
scrap, while Turkish buyers are seeking lower price levels. Ex-
US deals to Morocco and Egypt has been heard in the current week. Additionally,
scrap demand from local producers in the
US domestic market is expected to increase in the coming period, providing support for
US suppliers to keep their prices firm for
Turkey.
However, Turkish steel producers are determined to push for lower prices due to sluggish demand for Turkish finished steel both in local and export markets. Moreover, billet offers from China and the CIS to
Turkey have declined by $5-10/mt during the past week, while some Turkish producers are showing more interest in Chinese billet offers than in import
scrap offers. In the coming days, it is believed that the resistance of
scrap suppliers may be broken if deals below the current price level are heard in the market. Currently, some
scrap suppliers are still negotiating with Turkish producers, while there is a possibility of a slight reduction in import
scrap prices in the upcoming transactions.