As Turkish mills are trying to secure deep sea scrap tonnages, prices have continued to increase at a rapid pace, reaching approximately $490/mt CFR in an ex-US deal.
SteelOrbis has learned that a producer in the Marmara region has concluded a deal from the US for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $489.5/mt CFR, shredded scrap at $509.50/mt CFR and bonus grade scrap at $509.5/mt CFR. Prior to this deal, rumors of another ex-US deal were widely shared in the market, with an Izmir-based mill reportedly concluding the deal, with HMS I/II 80:20 scrap priced at $486/mt CFR. However, since there is now another level closer to $490/mt CFR hit, no one expects this lower price to work in the coming days.
Meanwhile, another Iskenderun-based producer is rumored to have concluded an ex-Estonia booking. Although there are no further details, HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in the cargo is priced at $486/mt CFR. The previous ex-Baltic transaction was closed at $480/mt CFR Turkey. The abovementioned ex-US scrap deal may push ex-Baltic deals to higher price levels, market players have stated. Also, there was another cargo bought by another Iskenderun-based producer, from Murmansk and St. Petersburg, with 15,000 mt of HMS I/II 95:5 scrap at $510/mt CFR. SteelOrbis understands that this cargo is a special case and that estimating the HMS I/II 80:20 scrap price based on this one would be misleading.
Lastly, a Turkish steelmaker in Izmir is rumored to have concluded an ex-EU booking for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $480/mt CFR. This deal was not confirmed by the buyer or the seller by the time of publication. However, with deep sea scrap prices surging up in each new deal, ex-EU scrap prices are now believed to be in the range of $485-490/mt CFR.
Turkish mills are still looking for deep sea scrap cargoes. They have already bought approximately 22 deep sea cargoes for November shipments and still need at least 13 more. Also, SteelOrbis has heard that, with the prices moving up at a fast pace, some larger mills are already trying to secure deep sea cargoes for December shipments.
Additionally, as the vessel shortage in the short sea scrap segment has continued, it is observed that there are only a few offers to Turkey for short sea scrap. The workable levels for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap are now estimated to be in the range of $470-475/mt CFR, increasing in line with deep sea scrap quotations.
As of today, the rises in the local Turkish rebar market are also continuing. As Icdas has opened its local rebar sales at $730/mt ex-works, some other Marmara-based producers have announced their list prices at $750/mt ex-works. There may be some discounts for actual sales, but these numbers also indicate a significant rise from the levels recorded at the beginning of the current week. With the Turkish lira depreciating to record levels against the US dollar, the price adjustments were needed. Also, market players stated that the lack of some dimensions is impacting the market, pushing up prices along with the uptrend of import scrap quotations.
