As the downtrend in Turkey’s import scrap market continues unabated, ex-Germany scrap deal has pushed prices down further.
SteelOrbis has learned that the deal in question has been closed by an Izmir-based Turkish mill and the only detail disclosed was that the price of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in the deal was at $445/mt CFR Turkey. Some market players think that this deal was closed at the end of last week and will be shipped in late September. With this deal, ex-Europe prime grade scrap prices have moved down by $5/mt from the $450/mt CFR level that was estimated after the ex-Baltic deal closed at $455/mt CFR.
Also, an ex-Finland booking was closed yesterday, August 17, by another Izmir-based producer for 13,000 mt HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $457/mt CFR and 17,000 mt shredded scrap at $473/mt CFR, for September shipment. This level is $2/mt higher than the recently concluded ex-Baltic deal. The buyer is reportedly seeking shredded grade scrap and, since the material from Finland is considered good, it was willing to pay a bit higher for the cargo, SteelOrbis understands.
Additionally, the second mill mentioned also concluded another booking, from Venezuela, for 25,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $449/mt CFR, to be shipped in the second half of September.
The high number of offers to Turkey has contributed to the unwillingness of Turkish mills to conclude transactions rapidly, which is exerting pressure on prices. Some sellers state that Turkish mills are slowly making some price inquiries, but that they are still asking for lower-than-offered quotations. Meanwhile, a major European scrap supplier stated that particularly for prime grades their price expectation is very different from what Turkish mills are asking for, adding that they prefer to stay out of the market for now. Another European seller said he thinks that prices will continue their downtrend at a slow pace amid the high number of offers and that offers will come from the Baltic region which has been silent for some time. A couple of sources stated that the scrap inventories of Turkish mills are on the high side. Also, high HMS I/II 80:20 scrap tonnages are in the hands of sellers on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Hence, when a seller tries to sell HMS I/II 80:20 scrap, it has to make a sacrifice on the prices of higher grades.
On the short sea side, Turkish mills are targeting $390s/mt CFRs, one player stated “but this cannot be accepted.” HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices from Romania and the Adriatic region are at $420/mt CFR. Turkish mills are asking for higher grades from short sea suppliers, SteelOrbis understands, such as bonus grade and HMS I/II 90:10 scrap, but, due to the high collection costs of those materials in hand, sellers are failing to meet buyers’ bids.
The reduced rebar prices in Turkey are not helping the situation. Turkish rebar producers have been cutting their quotations since the beginning of the week. Kardemir sold around 44,000 mt of rebar today at $667/mt ex-works (exchange rate at TRY 8.43 per dollar) and closed its sales right after. Following Kardemir’s move, it is observed that İçdaş announced its domestic rebar prices at $675/mt ex-works, while Habas announced $665/mt ex-works which is approximately $10/mt lower than yesterday’s actual sales.