Downtrend begins in the Italian scrap market

After surging in February and March, domestic scrap prices declined in the Italian market this week and should decrease further in the coming period according to sources. In fact, scrap demand has been slowing down in the past few weeks on the back of reduced production utilization rates at local mills and weak finished products sales. Moreover, the sentiment has worsened amid the price trend reversal in the international scrap market, with HMS I/II 80:20 import prices declining by almost 7 percent in Turkey in the past month. "The downtrend has begun also because prices had reached levels that were too high, therefore finished steel prices had also reached impossible levels," one local scrap trader commented. According to several sources, prices have decreased by about €20/mt so far and will decrease further in the coming week, although the total amount of such decrease is yet to be seen.

Currently, average spot prices in the local Italian scrap market are as follows:

Prices include delivery and exclude VAT.