US domestic scrap prices, which settled at approximately $218/mt ($215/gt) for HMS scrap, $238-$244/mt ($235-$240/gt) for busheling scrap and $254-$264/mt ($250-$260/gt) for shredded scrap during the April buy-cycle, trended up starkly during the May buy cycle.
On the US East coast, HMS scrap settled at $264/mt ($260/gt), shredded scrap settled at $295-$300/mt ($290-$295/gt) and busheling scrap settled at $295/mt ($290/gt).
Prices in the Ohio Valley also settled up between $20-$30/mt ($20-$30/gt). In this region, HMS settled at $234/mt ($230/gt), shredded settled at $290/mt ($285/gt), busheling scrap settled at $279/mt ($275/gt) and P&S scrap settled at $259/mt ($255/gt).
The big question, however, is whether the three-month uptrend in prices will continue in June.
“The general sense, as of now, is that domestic pricing will level off or even decline slightly in June unless we see a flurry of export activity. But we haven’t heard anything that would indicate that’s going to happen and we don’t expect it to happen,” one source said.
“The general sense, as of now, is that domestic pricing will level off or even decline slightly in June unless we see a flurry of export activity. But we haven’t heard anything that would indicate that’s going to happen and we don’t expect it to happen,” one source said.
Turkish mills have currently halted their scrap purchases due to recent volatility in ex-China billet offer prices.
A second source close to SteelOrbis agreed, noting that scrap inflow into yards has also improved. “Flow into the yards has increased fairly dramatically over the last two weeks but if the domestic mills try to push prices down too much too fast, that’s bound to cut inflow again.”