Turkey’s import scrap market has remained silent this week, following the Eid holiday which ended on Wednesday, April 2, for the private sector. Most market players extended their holiday for a full week even before the Turkish government’s announcement of a longer holiday for the public sector. Turkey’s steel and scrap markets will resume work on Monday, April 7.
Market sources reported that Turkish mills have been in no rush to conclude deep sea scrap purchases this week as they had completed their purchases for April shipment before the holiday. Now, they are evaluating the impact of Trump’s tariffs on Turkish steel, while they are also monitoring their impact on the international steel trade. “This week can be described as one of complete silence. We are just following the news both on the local and global scenes to make a decision for next week,” a European scrap supplier reported. Another supplier said there may be some advantages for Turkish steel in the coming period after Trump’s tariff announcements. “Turkey is in a relatively good spot. As the reciprocal tariffs do not include steel and aluminium, now Turkey is under Section 232 like everyone else. Even with the additional antidumping and countervailing duties, there may be time for Turkish mills to increase their market shares in the US.” A Turkish long steel producer expressed a similar view, commenting, “Turkey has an advantage once again, especially for cold rolled coils (CRC) and galvanized products. We have already heard two major mills concluding sales to the US, while we think maybe cargoes merging flats with longs have potential for the US in the future.” Having said that, all market players believe it is too early to make a clear estimation. “After the US’ tariffs, countries will respond. China has already made a move,” a scrap seller pointed out. China has retaliated by adding a 34 percent tariff on all US goods starting from April 10, SteelOrbis has learned. “This practice of the US is not in line with international trade rules, seriously undermines China’s legitimate rights and interests, and is a typical unilateral bullying practice,” China’s State Council Tariff Commission said in a statement announcing its retaliatory tariffs.
There has been a rumor of an ex-Denmark booking done by Turkey for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $378/mt CFR. This information was not confirmed or denied by the time of publication, though several sources found the price in question workable under the current circumstances. SteelOrbis has learned that collection prices paid by European scrap exporters have softened by €5-10/mt as compared to yesterday, April 3, to €300-305/mt DAP. A German source commented that this decline in export yards’ prices was the direct result of the euro-US dollar exchange rate and has had no impact on the local market yet. Another sources report that in Benelux countries collection prices have dropped to €295-300/mt DAP today. As a result, sentiment in Turkey’s import scrap market is soft as the current week comes to an end, with clearer sentiment expected next Monday.
Under the current conditions, the deep sea benchmark HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices in CFR terms have remained stable week on week. The prices are now 4.55 percent higher month on month in the deep sea segment, with prices being in the range of $375-381/mt CFR.
The expectation for April scrap pricing in the US trended down this week, as a short-term spike for finished steel demand appears to have moderated ahead of the much-anticipated announcements on April 2 of sweeping new reciprocal tariffs on world trading partners by the US Trump administration.
US domestic mills also are reported to have canceled March scrap deliveries, indicating to many that scrap prices for the new month could surely be headed down. “The mills are canceling March scrap orders, so they are pretty sure that the April market is lower” said one Midwest scrap insider, noting a decline in the price of next month’s scrap, adding, “But, I have no idea by how much.”
Based on a down $20-30/gt ($20-30/mt) April scrap expectation, prime grades of April busheling scrap in the US Ohio Valley could settle at $460-485/nt ($468-493/mt) on a delivered to mill basis, while shredded grades could settle near $430-435/gt ($437-442/mt) delivered. HMS and P&S grades are expected to settle near $370-390/gt ($376-397/mt), and $416-426/gt ($4-433/mt), respectively, on a delivered to mill basis.
In the US Northeast, monthly scrap price expectations are currently seen sideways to March values, with April busheling scrap seen settling near $430-450/gt ($437-457/mt), while shredded grades are discussed at $405-415/nt ($412-422/mt) on a delivered to mill basis. April HMS is seen flat from March near $375-390/nt ($381-396/mt), while P&S graded scrap is seen steady to March levels at $375-385/nt ($381-396/mt).
The local scrap market in Italy has been characterized by an almost complete absence of negotiations this week, and most players have reported unchanged prices except for some upward movements made to adjust to the current scrap market prices. Both scrap traders and mills agree that the current week and the next will be silent and stable.
The purchase prices for all scrap grades in the local Italian market remain unchanged on week-on-week basis. Prices in the local Spanish market have also remained unchanged week on week.
Some attempts to increase prices by German suppliers have been reported in the Italian scrap market in the past week. Increases of €5-10/mt were sought but these attempts were immediately abandoned as finished steel producers in Italy are no longer able to sustain increases in scrap prices.
In the local Polish scrap market, on the other hand, the latest sales prices have been reported at around €320/mt for the equivalent of E1 scrap, €335/mt for the equivalent of E3 scrap and around €350/mt for the equivalent of E8 scrap.
The leading Japanese EAF-based steel producer Tokyo Steel has increased its domestic scrap purchase prices by JPY 1,500/mt for its Tahara and Nagoya plants.
Tokyo Steel’s general range for H2 grade scrap price has moved up by JPY 500/mt on the lower to the range of JPY 40,500-43,000/mt ($278-295/mt) depending on the mill. The dollar-based quotations have increased by $12/mt on the lower end and by $9/mt on the upper end as compared to March 26, due to the fluctuation of the Japanese yen against the US dollar.
Over the past week, Taiwan’s import scrap market has moved down slightly, though market sources interpreted these small declines as a relative stability of prices. A source from Taiwan said, “Due to Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, next week we expect the stock market to fall further and create chaos.” Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on April 2, targeting Taiwan also, hitting it with 32 percent duties. Although steel and aluminium are not included in the reciprocal tariffs and semiconductors were left out for Taiwan, the duty rate is far higher than the base duty announced at 10 percent.
Offers for ex-US HMS I/II (80:20) scrap in containers to Taiwan have moved down by $3/mt this week, from the range of $315-320/mt CFR to $312-320/mt.
Offers shared for Japanese H1/2 (50:50) scrap bulk have remained limited this week, with the offer prices at around $330/mt CFR, down by $5/mt. No deals were done this week.
Vietnam's import scrap market has moved down slightly over the past week. SteelOrbis understands that cheaper billet alternatives are exerting pressure on the market prices. In particular, the number of offers from Japan has been limited as Japanese exporters are waiting to see the result of the Kanto scrap export tender due to be held next week. US President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs have hit Vietnam strongly with a 46 percent duty rate, one of the highest rates on the list.
Over the past week, offers for Japanese H2 scrap to Vietnam have moved down another $5/mt over the past week to $330-340/mt CFR. Bids from Vietnamese buyers are $5-7/mt lower than the offers.
Ex-US bulk HMS I/II 80:20 scrap offers to Vietnam have moved down by $5/mt over the past week to $365-370/mt CFR.