US export scrap demand and prices have remained relatively unchanged from two weeks ago.
In the last two weeks, scrap demand from Turkey has remained slow; with the current Ramadan holiday and the sluggish economy, Turkish steel producers are not purchasing scrap aggressively for the time being, and the only scrap purchases made have been to satisfy their immediate needs. Therefore, ex-US scrap offer prices from the East Coast to Turkey continue to range from $475 to $480/mt CFR. Market insiders hope to see an improvement in scrap buying activity when the Ramadan holiday is over.
On the US West Coast, ex-US scrap prices to the Far East have also stayed neutral from two weeks ago. Currently, there is not a lot of scrap offers in the market while scrap demand is slow, and market insiders tell SteelOrbis that some scrap suppliers are holding up the scrap tonnages to sell next month as they expect prices will increase in September. Ex-US container scrap offer prices to Taiwan have remained in the level of $470 to $480/mt CFR and ex-US bulk offer prices to China are still in the level of $485 to $495/mt CFR.
In the US domestic scrap market, most market insiders are anticipating that domestic scrap demand will be able to support a neutral to slightly up pricing trend for next month, while some see softness on the prime grade scrap in the Midwest.