Turkish steel producers have not made any scrap bookings this week since they have met most of their scrap needs for October shipments after concluding several deals last week. With the deals in question, the downtrend of scrap prices gained momentum, with Turkish producers expecting prices to soften further in each subsequent negotiation.
Last week, ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices to Turkey, which were at $190/mt CFR in the previous week, declined to $180/mt CFR. Slack scrap demand from US steel producers has continued to contribute to the imbalance between supply and demand in the local US scrap market, with supply higher than demand. Amid these conditions, the decrease seen last week in scrap prices in the local US market was greater than expected, with prices declining by $50/mt month on month. Accordingly, Turkish producers’ price expectation for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap decreased to below $180/mt CFR.
Meanwhile, early last week it was heard that an ex-Europe deal for HMS I/II 75:25 scrap was concluded at $169/mt CFR, while by the end of the week an ex-UK deal for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap was concluded at $167/mt CFR. Accordingly, Turkish producers have started to expect lower scrap offer prices from Europe.
Even though Turkish steel producers have mostly completed their scrap bookings for October shipments, scrap suppliers still have cargos which are ready for sale for October shipments. For this reason, the downtrend of prices in the import scrap market in Turkey is expected to continue in the coming period. In this context, Turkish producers have revised their domestic scrap purchase quotations downwards.