Russian scrap exports down, domestic deliveries up

According to the statistical data, Russian scrap exports volume continued to decrease in April 2006. Although the scrap exports rose 26 percent month on month in April, year on year index shows considerable decrease. This downward trend in Russian scrap exports proceed on the background of price rise on this raw material and increased scarcity, especially in the traditional Russian scrap export markets. For instance, as SteelOrbis reported previously Russian A3 scrap was sold to Turkey at $275-278 per mt CFR, while the local traders report about the scarcity of scrap. The domestic deliveries of scrap, on the other hand, rose by approximately 8 percent year on year in April 2006. Thus, an increase in domestic scrap deliveries showed most of Russian regional suppliers with exception of Ural Federal Region. The stable high demand for scrap in Russian domestic market forced Russian metallurgical enterprises to push up the level of scrap procurement prices after approximately a month-long downward trend.