Speaking at the SteelOrbis Spring 2013 Conference & 68th IREPAS Meeting held on March 3-5 in Doha, Yusuf Guven from Helveco Intertrade, the chairman of the raw materials committee, said that China has started restocking iron ore again, resulting in increased iron ore prices. He went on the state that China has been importing scrap from the US and, because of this, some scrap availability issues have been seen in the rest of the world. Contrary to the usual seasonal winter situation, scrap stocks have not been available at US ports this winter. Also, domestic scrap prices in the US have moved upwards.
Regarding Europe, Mr. Guven stated that, as viewed by the raw materials committee, both production and consumption of scrap is rising.
Steel demand continues to be observed in Turkey, Mr. Guven stated, adding that in general it is not possible to say scrap is in short supply when looking at the global situation. He remarked that scrap supplies are available and there exists a sort of equilibrium in the market. In conclusion, the chairman of the raw materials committee told participants at the Doha event that there are no expectations of higher ups and downs in scrap prices globally, while greater pressure may be seen on prices since scrap consumption is increasing.