Following the long silence after the ex-EU scrap deal concluded at the end of May, finally an ex-Baltic scrap transaction has been disclosed to the market today, June 8.
SteelOrbis has learned that a Marmara-based mill has concluded the deal in question from Estonia for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $501/mt CFR and bonus grade scrap at $511/mt CFR. The shipment of the booking is believed to be in the second half of July. Prior to this deal, SteelOrbis’ price estimations for Baltic origin HMS I/II 80:20 scrap were in the range of $505-510/mt CFR based on the most recent deep sea scrap transaction from the UK closed at $505/mt CFR.
During the long silence in Turkey’s import scrap market, it was observed that Turkish mills were pushing for prices lower than $500/mt CFR, while sellers have been unwilling to cut their benchmark HMS I/II 80:20 prices to the desired levels. However, now that they have found a common ground in terms of prices, more deep sea scrap bookings may be heard in the coming days.
SteelOrbis has also heard that there was an ex-Bulgarian deal done to Turkey’s Marmara region at $465/mt CFR in the current week, though some market players state that this level indicates that the cargo is not HMS I/II 80:20 scrap - maybe bonus scrap - since Turkish mills are asking for $450-460/mt CFR for short sea scrap cargoes. These levels are considered low by sellers. As a result, the short sea scrap side was also waiting for a signal from the deep sea segment. Meanwhile, SteelOrbis hears that some Russian sellers are more willing to conclude export sales of HMS I/II 85:15 or 90:10 scrap at $470-475/mt CFR before Russia initiates its €70/mt export duty on scrap. Turkish mills’ bids for Russian scrap are at around $470/mt CFR, according to sources.
Also, following the $51/mt price rise in the local US scrap market, a market source stated today that the local European scrap market is also expecting a €30-35/mt increase. Demand on both sides of the Atlantic is lively, particularly for higher grades.
