Having made a quiet start to the New Year, deep sea scrap prices in Turkey have increased by two deals disclosed to the market today, January 6, one from the US and the other from the EU.
SteelOrbis has learned that a Marmara based steelmaker has concluded the ex-US transaction for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $478/mt CFR and shredded scrap at $488/mt CFR, for late February. The previous ex-US deal was closed at $473/mt CFR Turkey for the benchmark HMS I/II 80:20 scrap.
Also an Izmir-based mill has reportedly concluded an ex-EU deal for 16,500 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $474/mt CFR, 6,000 mt of a mixture of bonus grade and HMS I scrap at $484/mt CFR and 5,000 mt of shredded scrap at $487/mt CFR, for late February or early March shipment. This information was not confirmed by the buyer or the seller at the time of publication. Previous to this deal, the estimations for European HMS I/II 80:20 scrap was in the range of $460-465/mt CFR as the latest booking confirmed was disclosed to the market on December 12, indicating the level of $455/mt CFR for benchmark grade.
As a result, deep sea scrap prices have remained firm as anticipated by SteelOrbis and moved further up. The lack of supply from the US is still a matter that concerns the market, while there are rumors of an ex-US cargo sold to Mexico with HMS I/II 80:20 scrap priced higher than $500/mt CFR. The local US scrap market is expected to settle at $80-$120/gt above December settled levels. Meanwhile, new lockdowns initiated through the UK and the extension of the lockdown in Germany brings out further suspicion on collection activities. Meanwhile, some European sources report that there were sales from Europe to Egypt this week. The positive sentiment in the Asian market continues and as SteelOrbis reported previously China has bought two cargoes for small tonnages from Japan over the first days of the New Year.
