In line with SteelOrbis’ forecast last month, prices in the local German scrap market have moved up in December. Some prices have even exceeded BDSV’s official figures in the table below such as E2/8 scrap, which are officially at €455/mt but have reached €480/mt delivered over the past month in actual sales, SteelOrbis understands. “Every sale now that we do will just militate in favor of the treasury, since we would be paying higher taxes. Hence, we are restocking scrap and are planning to wait until mid-January at least,” one German source stated. “Scrap flow in Germany is visibly lower,” another market player reported, adding, “The flow of E2/8 scrap is almost zero and E1 has slowed down by around 40 percent.” Although the decision to wait until mid-January will depend on Turkey’s activity in scrap imports, German scrap suppliers have indicated that they had a significantly good year in 2021 and are ending the year in a happy frame of mind.
Meanwhile, a scrap seller in western Germany stated that the most recent bid they received from Antwerp was at €350/mt DDP.
According to the latest data provided by the BDSV, in the first 20 days of December local scrap prices moved up by €2.1-14.2/mt month on month. Additionally, the year-on-year increase is still significant, in the range of €11.5-201/mt. Prices are average prices for domestic transactions across Germany in the first 20 days of the given month. The prices are provided by Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Stahlrecycling-und Entsorgungsunternehmen e.V. (BDSV).
Scrap grade |
Price: December 2021(€/mt) |
Price: November 2021(€/mt) |
Price: December 2020 (€/mt) |
Monthly Change (€/mt) |
Annual change (€/mt) |
E1 - Old steel scrap |
349.8 |
336.3 |
238.3 |
+13.5 |
+111.5 |
E2/E8 - New steel scrap |
455 |
446.9 |
254.0 |
+8.1 |
+201.0 |
E3 - Heavy old steel scrap |
398.3 |
396.2 |
253.3 |
+2.1 |
+145.0 |
E40 - Shredded scrap |
410.7 |
396.5 |
257.2 |
+14.2 |
+153.5 |
E5M - Steel turnings |
328.9 |
325.2 |
214.6 |
+3.7 |
+114.3 |
Specifications:
E1 - Old steel scrap: thickness ≥ 4 mm, maximum dimensions 1.5 m x 0.5 m x 0.5 m
E2/E8 - New steel scrap: maximum dimensions 1.5 m x 0.5 m x 0.5 m
E3 - Heavy old steel scrap: thickness ≥ 6 mm, maximum dimensions 1.5 m x 0.5 m x 0.5 m
E40 - Shredded scrap: excluding incinerator steel scrap and collection scrap; density ≥ 1.1 mt/m3, Fe ≥ 92%
E5M - Turnings: excluding iron and automatic steel turnings
During the past month, prices in the local Polish market for HMS I scrap have increased by €5-10/mt from the range of €410-420/mt DAP to €420-425/mt DAP. “Not much has changed in the market over the past month. Scrap flow is slower due to the weather and we are not willing to sell more scrap until January as the holiday will start in Poland tomorrow, December 24, and most players will not return to the market until January 10,” a local source reported.