In two new ex-Belgium deals disclosed to the market, deep sea prime grade scrap prices for Turkey have increased further.
A Black Sea region-based Turkish steelmaker concluded the first deal for a cargo consisting of 10,000 mt of HMS I/II 75:25, 5,000 mt of shredded scrap, 15,000 mt of HMS I and 2,500 mt of rail scrap, at the average price level of $397.5/mt CFR. According to this information, the benchmark HMS I/II 80:20 scrap price is estimated to be in the range of $392-393/mt CFR.
Meanwhile, a Marmara-based Turkish mill concluded the other booking from the same supplier for a cargo consisting of 10,000 mt of HMS I/II 75:25, 5,000 mt of shredded scrap, 7,500 mt of HMS I, 2,500 mt of rail scrap and 2,500 mt of new cuttings, at the average price level of $400/mt CFR. Although this deal was not confirmed by the seller or the buyer at the time of publication, the benchmark grade scrap prices are estimated to be in the range of $396-397/mt CFR for this deal. Previously, SteelOrbis’ daily price estimation for ex-EU HMS I/II 80:20 scrap was standing in the range of $380-385/mt CFR.
The main driver of the rises observed on the deep sea side is the shortage observed in the supplier countries. The winter conditions are taking their toll on the collection side as the end-of-year holidays are approaching. A Baltic region-based supplier has told SteelOrbis that domestic scrap prices in the region are also rising, adding that local prices in Poland and eastern Germany have indicated a €40-50/mt increase as compared to the levels recorded towards the end of November, pushing HMS I quotations to €280-290/mt ex-yard. Meanwhile, in the US, a similar situation on the supply side is observed. Market players state that there is a shortage of scrap supply amid strong demand and due to cold weather conditions. While local demand in the US scrap market is very strong, demand from third parties such as Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and even Egypt continues to be received, in addition to demand from Turkey. This situation leads US-based scrap export yards to increase their scrap collection prices, though one supplier stated that the scrap flow to export yards has slowed down by 40 percent this month.