US export scrap market remains slow with steady export scrap prices.
There have not been significant scrap purchasing activities from Turkey observed in the past week, and ex-US scrap prices to Turkey remain around the level of $445/mt CFR. With the unclear situation in the Turkish domestic finished products market, political issues in the Middle East and North Africa, and the downward pricing trend on the US domestic scrap prices, some industry insiders expect that ex-US scrap prices to Turkey may go slightly down in the beginning of May.
Export scrap activity to the Far East is also slow, and ex-US scrap prices to the region remain neutral as well. Ex-US bulk scrap prices to the Far East are still hovering around the level of $480/mt CFR and ex-US container scrap prices are still in the range of $450 to $455/mt CFR Taiwan. Although there are some inquires on the books, SteelOrbis has not heard of any concluded transactions yet. Far East steel producers reportedly have adequate scrap inventories for the time being, therefore they are not in a hurry to purchase scrap at present. However, market sources predict they will resume scrap buying from the US in mid-May.
In the US domestic market, current speculation points to prime grade scrap prices moving sideways and cut grade scrap prices decreasing by approximately $10 to $20/lt ($9.84 to $19.68/mt) in May due to strong domestic scrap flow and healthy inventory levels at domestic mills.