Turkey has continued to conclude deep sea scrap deals ahead of the elections to be held on May 14. It is observed that benchmark HMS I/II 80:20 scrap quotations have moved relatively sideways, providing a breather for all players.
SteelOrbis has learned that an ex-US cargo was bought by an Iskenderun-based producer yesterday, May 10, with HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $375.5/mt CFR, and shredded and bonus grade scrap at $395.5/mt CFR. Another ex-US deal was done by a Marmara-based mill with HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $375/mt CFR, and with shredded and bonus grades at $395/mt CFR. A third deal was closed by an Izmir-based producer for 30,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $375/mt CFR and 10,000 mt of shredded scrap at $395/mt CFR. On average, ex-US benchmark scrap prices have declined by $1/mt since yesterday.
Meanwhile, two European cargoes have been bought by Turkish mills. A Belgium-based seller closed a deal with a producer in Turkey’s Marmara region. The cargo consists of 24,000 mt of HMS /II 80:20 scrap, 9,000 mt of a mixture of P&S and HMS I grades and 5,000 mt of shredded scrap at the average price of $374.5/mt CFR. According to the information on hand, market players largely believe this deal signals HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at around $367/mt CFR. Another ex-Belgium booking was done by a Black Sea region-based steelmaker with HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $371/mt CFR and shredded and bonus grade scrap at $391/mt CFR. A European contact reported that the volume of higher grades in this cargo will be larger than HMS I/II 80:20 scrap, but this information was not confirmed by the time of publication.
Additionally, an ex-Baltic deal has been done by another Iskenderun-based producer for 19,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $374/mt CFR and 6,000 mt of bonus grade scrap at $394/mt CFR. Accordingly, ex-Baltic benchmark scrap prices have remained stable as compared to the previous estimations.
It is also observed that a number of sub-collectors that are resisting bids coming from export yards at around €290s/mt DAP is rising. One German sub-collector informed SteelOrbis today that some of the bids are rising. As compared to yesterday, DAP-based collection prices of export yards have increased by $5-10/mt to €295-300/mt for HMS I/II 80:20 grades. Still some sub-collectors believe prices should return to €310/mt DAP and above, citing the slow scrap flow to yards. Additionally, European mills seem not to be decided about their own scrap procurement. SteelOrbis hears most EU-based producers have decided to cut their local scrap procurement quotations, with some even announcing maintenance works ahead of the traditional summer holiday. On the other hand, the producers still receiving some end-user demand are inclined to increase their scrap inventory levels, though these producers are few in number. An exporter in Europe reports that there is almost no bidding from markets such as India, Bangladesh and Egypt. “The containerized scrap market is also silent,” the source reported. Earlier today, SteelOrbis reported that scrap prices in the US Northeast and Pittsburgh regions have settled down by $41/mt for HMS I grades, and down $50/mt for higher grades. Amid Turkish producers’ willingness to book at least one or two deep sea cargoes for June before the first round of the elections, Turkey’s import scrap market is on a sideways trend for now.