The silence in Turkey’s deep sea scrap market has ended with an ex-US scrap transaction disclosed to the market today, June 24.
SteelOrbis has learned that an Izmir-based Turkish steelmaker has concluded the deal for 10,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $499/mt CFR, 16,000 mt of shredded scrap at $519/mt CFR and 2,000 mt of bonus grade scrap at $519/mt CFR. The previous ex-US scrap booking was closed at $501/mt CFR and was disclosed to market on June 16, along with a rumored deal from the same country at $502/mt CFR, both for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap.
Turkish steelmakers have been exerting pressure on deep sea scrap quotations since the middle of last week, after ex-Canada and ex-US transactions that caused prices to soften. The main view in Turkey’s deep sea scrap market was that benchmark HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices could test $490/mt CFR as Turkish mills’ finished steel sales are not in good shape. The very slight fall observed in the abovementioned transaction has been interpreted as the buyer’s willingness to guarantee supply of prime grades, with some market players citing the higher levels paid by other buyer regions for shredded scrap. Also, SteelOrbis has learned that an US-based scrap supplier is asking for $545/mt CFR for shredded to Turkey. A major European scrap seller has also informed SteelOrbis that they are keeping their offers to Turkey firm, pointing to the demand for prime grades all over the world. Baltic region-based sellers told SteelOrbis that local scrap prices in the region are very attractive, demand is lively and that there is a lack of supply. Hence, they are in no rush to accept lower deep sea scrap bids from Turkey. One market source from the Baltic region stated that local HMS I prices are almost equal to $540/mt CFR Turkey.
Market sources state that no Turkish rebar exports have been heard over the past two weeks, and the uncertainty regarding the extension of the EU’s quota regime is making buyers wait as they do not want to take any risks. The local Turkish rebar market is also silent, with some tonnages changing hands between traders but no significant rebar sale has been heard for a while as prices are moving down. The future trend of Turkey’s import scrap market depends strongly on Turkish mills’ finished steel export performance in the coming period.
Also, Russia is mulling the imposition of export duties on steel products and this is being monitored closely by the market. Some market players state that, according to the preliminary information, the duty on billet may be 15 percent or $115/mt minimum, which is expected to support scrap prices. The duty is expected to be initiated for the August 1-December 31 period, though this information is yet to be confirmed.
