In January this year, total scrap consumption in the European Union (EU) fell by four percent year on year and was up 21.2 percent compared to December last year, amounting to 7.6 million mt, according to the preliminary data from the European Steel Association (EUROFER).
Major scrap consumer markets in the EU in January:
Jan 2011 | Jan 2012 | |
Italy | 1,592 | 1,710 |
Germany | 1,473 | 1,432 |
Spain | 1,113 | 894 |
France | 677 | 769 |
Poland | 439 | 518 |
EU total | 7,929 | 7,614 |
Tonnage figures are x 1,000 mt.
Meanwhile, in the European Union local scrap prices increased in March this year compared to February levels. For the fourth straight month scrap prices in the EU recorded a year-on-year decline in March.
EU scrap price index, March 2012 | |||
Quality | Value | Variation m-o-m (%) | Variation y-o-y (%) |
Demolition scrap (E3) | 329 | 3.13 | -0.9 |
New arisings (E2/E8/E6) | 322 | 4.21 | -5 |
Shredded (E40) | 326 | 3.82 | -0.9 |
*Notes: 2001 average=100; the indexes are based on €/mt average prices in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom.