As the import scrap market in Turkey waits for a new ex-US scrap transaction after the sharp decrease recorded in the latest ex-UK deal, a booking from the US that was concluded last week has been disclosed to the market.
SteelOrbis has learned that an Iskenderun-based Turkish mill had concluded the ex-US transaction in question for 29,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $425/mt CFR, 15,000 mt of shredded scrap at $435/mt CFR and 4,000 mt of bonus grade scrap at $435/mt CFR, for February shipment. As this deal was done before the deep sea HMS I/II 80:20 scrap price fell sharply in an ex-UK booking closed at $408/mt CFR, SteelOrbis’ reference quotations for prime grade are still in the range of $415-420/mt CFR Turkey.
It is observed that Turkey’s import scrap market is taking a breather as it tries to gain some balance. Some market sources state that the decreasing trend will continue in new deals, adding that they do not expect Turkish mills to rush to conclude bookings. As SteelOrbis has previously mentioned, Turkey has almost completed its purchases of cargoes for February shipment and not all mills are in need of scrap for shipment in the first half of March. One Turkish steelmaker stated that, despite the current silence in the market, there are several sellers that are ready to give offers to Turkey, adding that they expect the latest drop in scrap prices to cause a slowdown in local finished steel trading. Several traders in the local rebar market have seconded this opinion. One European scrap seller has stated that the downtrend is expected to continue, but also added that, if the ex-US bookings rumored to be made by China for shredded scrap at $430/mt CFR and $455/mt CFR are true, then the decreasing trend may be restrained. SteelOrbis has also heard that some European scrap suppliers have started to consider sales to China, but “this cannot happen overnight”, one market source stated. On the other hand, a Turkish mill has commented on the issue, saying that one or two sales from the US to China will not change anything in the short term, while one scrap supplier expressed the view that it would take three to five ex-US sales to China to impact the international price trend. Meanwhile, the indicative levels for short sea HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices from Romania and the Adriatic region are in the range of $398-403/mt CFR Turkey. According to market sources, the short sea side is also quiet, market players are waiting to see another deep sea scrap transaction, particularly from the US.