Ahead of the SteelOrbis Fall 2023 Conference & 89th IREPAS Meeting to be held on September 17-19 in Istanbul, ex-US scrap prices have remained stable in a new deal concluded to Turkey.
A Marmara-based Turkish producer has concluded the ex-US booking in question for HMS I/II 90:10 scrap at $382/mt CFR and shredded scrap at $397/mt CFR. This deal signals that the price of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap stands still at $377/mt CFR, similar to the previous deal done by the same US-based seller.
Short sea scrap deals have been done from Bulgaria and Romania to Turkey this week, with HMS I/II 80:20 scrap standing in the range of $343-347/mt CFR. A Marmara-based producer also bought an ex-Romania HMS I/II 80:20 scrap cargo at $343/mt CFR.
European scrap collection prices are still in the range of €305-310/mt DAP for exporters. There is an expectation of a rise in prices if the demand coming out of Turkey accelerates. This expectation is supported by the domestic sentiment in the EU, with the return of producers from the holidays having a positive impact. SteelOrbis hears that offers from the EU are mostly at around $373-375/mt CFR. There are significantly higher offer prices from the EU voiced by some players, but they are not considered workable right now. Turkish steelmakers think that the current deep sea scrap prices are close to hitting their peak, if not already there. “We needed scrap and accepted the recent firm stance of scrap exporters with a slight increase. But higher levels than these do not support our finished steel prices,” the representative of a Turkish mill said. An ex-Baltic-scrap supplier stated that higher levels would force Turkish mills’ hand in terms of production costs. Another supplier from the same region commented that the financial burden of keeping finished steel and scrap in inventories during the same period is hard for mills, stating, “The current levels of scrap prices are high and result in very narrow margins for Turkish mills, almost around $200/mt. Whether this is sustainable or not, we will have to see.” It is known that Kardemir issued its rebar price today, September 13, at TRY 15,665/mt ($582/mt), excluding VAT. The mill’s rebar price indicated a TRY 535/mt ($13/mt) decrease compared to August 23. According to sources, the producer succeeded in selling around 35,000 mt of rebar. Market players believe that the buyers are aiming to take advantage of Kardemir’s favorable payment conditions, which are considered more advantageous than the conditions for borrowing from Turkish banks. It should also be added that, in the January-July period of this year Turkey’s rebar exports amounted to 1.73 million metric tons, down by 50.0 percent compared to the same period last year, while the revenue generated by these exports totaled $1.15 billion, falling by 56.7 percent year on year.