In the past six weeks, US export scrap cargo prices to Turkey for HMS I/II 80:20 dipped to $225/mt, but subsequent bookings showed an uptrend. Prices climbed to as high as $240/mt CFR just last week before recent revisions brought that number down to $230/mt CFR. Current conditions within the US market remain volatile, as sources close to SteelOrbis point out that scrap intake is off by as much as 50 percent. US domestic mills within the East Coast / Philadelphia region are also buying “about half as much as they used to,” due to high inventories of US domestic finished steel products that are still on the ground.
And while some market sources felt US export yards may have “over committed tonnages” to Turkish mills, which could, in turn, have helped firm prices within the US East Coast market as yards may need to pay higher prices to scrap collectors in order to increase inflow, the recent downturn in US export offer prices has a number of US-based market sources changing their tune. US market sources say that in light of shoddy scrap demand from US East coast mini mills, the domestic mills are likely to try to take prices down in September, which will likely have scrap collectors selling current loads to export yards at sideways, as opposed to selling at a lesser price within the US domestic market. Demand for Turkish finished steel products are being hindered due to competition from Chinese exports, which will have Turkish steel producers seeking lower priced scrap. US export yards, however, may face difficulty in maintaining inflow if they are unable to increase their pay-price to scrap collectors.