Sentiment in Turkey’s import scrap market is stronger as another ex-EU scrap cargo closed on Friday, December 24, indicates a stable price trend.
SteelOrbis has learned that a Marmara-based producer concluded the ex-Belgium deal on Friday for 30,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap and 10,000 mt of bonus grade scrap at the average price of $458/mt CFR. The estimation for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap based on the deal is at $453/mt CFR, similar to the ex-German scrap deal done early last week.
Ahead of the New Year, it is known that Turkish mills are waiting for a stabilization in the Turkish lira-US dollar exchange rate to make a move in their scrap purchases. Despite their effort to reduce their deep sea scrap purchase prices, prices are not moving further down. On the contrary, sentiment amongst sellers is better. “I don’t think that prices will decrease much, instead there is an effort to increase them on the sellers’ side,” a source commented. Some scrap suppliers believe that prices have hit the bottom, while some are aiming for higher levels. SteelOrbis hears that European sellers are aiming for closer to the $460s/mt CFR Turkey, while US suppliers are seeking closer to the $470s/mt CFR Turkey. It is too early to say if Turkish mills are ready to accept higher levels, though it is known that they are behind in their usual scrap purchases for January shipments. Having said that some players are still sceptic, “We know producers need scrap and this is the only positive thing in the market,” one seller stated, adding, “We can still see that Turkish mills are struggling to conclude sales of large finished steel tonnages.”
In the short sea segment, HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices from Romania and Adriatic are still standing in the range of $430-435/mt CFR, with no fresh deals done at this level yet.