In the middle of the current week, Turkey finally started to conclude deep sea scrap deals following a long absence of transactions, with the new price levels indicating a significant rise, as expected by SteelOrbis. Market sources still report that there are not enough concrete offers from sellers and that it is still a seller’s market. The lively deep sea scrap buying activity in Turkey continued for the rest of the week, with sources reporting that sellers reacted quickly to the new price levels and that the number of offers in the market increased significantly.
With common ground reached on deep sea scrap prices between Turkish buyers and overseas sellers, deals for ex-US cargoes were signed yesterday, March 26, below $400/mt CFR. Meanwhile, additional sales from the EU region have been confirmed, with deal prices moving up slightly.
An ex-Netherlands deal was done by a Marmara-based producer yesterday, with HMS I/II 80:20 scrap standing at $387/mt CFR. Another ex-Netherlands booking was done on Tuesday this week by a Black Sea region-based Turkish producer with HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $392/mt CFR. Meanwhile, an ex-Denmark booking by an Izmir-based producer was closed at $395/mt CFR for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap.
With the additional transactions, the total number of deep sea scrap bookings has reached 24 this week. Still, Turkey has additional needs for further deals for May shipment. “The situation we saw during the past three days is self-explanatory. The waiting period ended with a big bang and Turkish mills have concluded a high number of deals, though we have not heard the name of one mill in these bookings. Hence, there may be more than already confirmed,” a source commented to SteelOrbis. In three days, 21 deep sea deals have been reported by sources, with 18 of them confirmed by the buyer or the seller. The others are on par with the prices in the confirmed bookings. “There are still some producers that are seeking cargoes. I think another ten cargoes will be needed to meet Turkey’s demand,” a supplier of ex-US and ex-EU scrap stated. “Well, if this war does not create further risk in the short term, a breather can be expected,” a seller commented.
Under the current conditions, the deep sea benchmark HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices in CFR terms have moved up by 3.83 percent week on week. The prices are now 6.92 percent lower month on month in the deep sea segment, with prices being in the range of $390-398/mt CFR.
Echoing a market call that began nearly a month ago, the outlook for April scrap in the US remains locked at sideways to lower, though insiders caution the extent of likely price declines next month for US Midwest pricing could depend on how much scrap gets exported during the fast-approaching supply negotiations.
“I think people have largely thrown in the towel for April and conceded that prime scrap will trade sideways, while cut grades could move $10-20/gt lower,” said one US Midwest-based scrap broker. “On the US East Coast, I would keep an eye on export scrap, as some buyers may emerge in trade.”
Even as rising diesel fuel costs for delivered scrap in the US continue because of climbing oil prices, the mills surveyed remain convinced April pricing will be down. “April scrap markets are still set to move down,” said one US Midwest-based mill scrap buyer. “I’ve heard down $20/gt from the mill perspective,” said still another US Gulf Coast-based scrap trader. “It mostly looks sideways,” remarked a final US Gulf Coast scrap insider to SteelOrbis.
The German scrap market seems to have somewhat returned to normal in terms of material availability in March, after a colder-than-average winter that had slowed down both scrap generation and the domestic logistics segment. In terms of prices, the local scrap market in Germany has remained unchanged overall in March, with only some upward or downward adjustments depending on the region and scrap category. The E1 scrap reference price, however, has shown a small downward movement of €3.8/mt, standing at an average of €256/mt ex-warehouse in March.
Polish scrap prices (ADD ARTICLE LINK) have registered an overall stable trend in March. In the meantime, with Turkish mills resuming scrap purchases, the export market is showing signs of recovery. According to IPHGZ, the Polish Metallurgical Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the average scrap purchase price for delivery to yards in March was registered at PLN 1,078/mt (around €252/mt) for W2 scrap equivalent to HMS I, higher by PLN 2/mt (€0,47/mt) compared to February. In the export market, HMS I collection prices at Polish export yards have risen slightly from the previous €272/mt DAP to €275/mt DAP.
The local scrap market in Italy (ADD ARTICLE LINK) has remained quiet for several weeks now. Changes on both the demand and supply sides are minimal, which leads to a substantial stagnation in prices that is likely to continue until after the Easter holidays (April 4-6, 2026). A factor that continues to weigh heavily on the market is the cost of transport, both domestically and to and from foreign markets. For the Italy-Germany routes, a so-called "diesel extra" has been applied, which is activated when diesel fuel prices exceed €2 per litre. In this case, we can see transport prices increase by up to €2-2.5/mt.
Taiwan’s import scrap market has continued its uptrend in the current week amid the ongoing impact of the war in the Middle East. Market sources report that, with Turkey’s deep sea scrap purchase prices increasing sharply this week, they are expected to drive up Taiwan’s import scrap prices in the coming week.
Offer prices for ex-US HMS I/II (80:20) scrap in containers to Taiwan have increased over the past week from the range of $340/mt CFR to $345-347/mt CFR, with a very limited number of offers heard. This week, Japanese H1/2 (50:50) offers to Taiwan have disappeared once again. Market sources report that the only offers they received from Japan are for HS grade in the range of $388-393/mt CFR.
Amid significant increases in the international scrap market and given Japanese mills’ desire to secure domestic scrap, Vietnamese buyers are facing price increases in their import scrap market.
Ex-US bulk HMS I/II 80:20 scrap offers to Vietnam have increased from the range of $375-380/mt CFR to $390-395/mt CFR. Market sources report no ex-US deals in Vietnam this week. Japanese H2 scrap offers to Vietnam have also moved up, from $355/mt CFR to $375-380/mt CFR. Sources report that deals to Southeast Asia are almost on hold due to fluctuating freight costs, and that vessel availability is on the low side.
Pakistan’s imported scrap prices have remained firm over the past week, while trading activity has failed to recover after the Eid holiday. More specifically, offers for ex-EU/UK shredded scrap have been heard at $410-415/mt CFR Pakistan this week, the same range as last week, while concluded deals have been reported at $408-412/mt CFR, up from $405-408/mt CFR Qasim heard last week. However, trading is still rather slow, as many mills had already booked sufficient tonnages before the holiday, though sellers’ expectations remain firm. In the Pakistani domestic market, local scrap equivalent to shredded is reported at PKR 145,000-150,000/mt ex-warehouse, while grade 60 rebar prices are heard at PKR 245,000-250,000/mt ex-works. Finished steel prices have generally remained stable, with market participants expecting the market to remain quiet in the short term.
Bangladesh’s import scrap prices have shown a mixed trend this week, with containerized scrap prices increasing by around $10/mt compared to early March levels, mainly supported by higher freight costs and limited supply, while the bulk segment has remained broadly unchanged. Offers for ex-EU HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in containers have been heard at $385-395/mt CFR Bangladesh this week, up from around $370-375/mt CFR heard two weeks ago, while a deal for ex-EU HMS I/II 90:10 scrap has been reported at $397/mt CFR, and offer prices for ex-EU shredded scrap in containers are reported at around $400-405/mt CFR Chittagong. Buying activity has stayed subdued as mills have remained on the sidelines ahead of the holidays, while participants expect a clearer direction once freight is finalized and the market reopens. In the bulk segment, sentiment has remained stable overall, though a booking for ex-Australia HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in bulk has been heard at $385-387/mt CFR Chittagong for a cargo of around 28,000 mt. Meanwhile, the local market has remained relatively stable, with rebar prices at BDT 90,000-95,000/mt ex-works and local scrap at BDT 56,000-59,000/mt ex-warehouse.