Following the price decreases seen at the start of October, Italian steel traders association Assofermet has said that scrap prices have decreased further both in the Mediterranean area and in northern Europe during the current month. The declines have been caused mainly by warnings of huge arrivals of semi-finished steel (billets, blooms and slabs) from Asia and by slack demand, especially in northern Europe.
As for pig iron, Assofermet said "the descent of prices has consolidated and sharpened", while ferroalloy prices have "confirmed their bearish trend, though with a few variations that indicated some stability".
Furthermore, regarding the Italian scrap market in particular, Assofermed stated that further declines in prices may be seen in the second half of the current month. "Nonetheless, a reduction in the availability of HMS (E3) has been noticed, while it is confirmed that some steel mills will temporarily halt their production, resulting in a decrease in domestic ferrous scrap consumption," Assofermet said.
So far, Italian domestic scrap prices have decreased by €15/mt in October compared to September levels. Scrap collection activity is decent considering low consumption levels, though the slack demand in the finished steel markets has convinced some local steel producers to stop producing for a week during this month, as stated by Assofermet. Meanwhile, according to market sources, pig iron import prices have been decreasing, approaching $200/mt CFR Italy.