Turkey has accepted slight price increases in deep sea scrap deals concluded over the past week. Despite the initial hopes for US-Iran negotiations, the lack of a concrete result caused scrap prices to remain firm, boosting sellers’ positions.
SteelOrbis has learned that an ex-US cargo was bought by an Iskenderun-based steel producer with HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $401/mt CFR, pushing up the ex-US scrap price by just $1/mt week on week. Two other deals for ex-UK/EU scrap indicate that HMS I/II 80:20 scrap from Europe has remained in the range of $395-397/mt CFR.
Price stability is the general impression in Turkey’s import scrap market. Sources from Turkish mills say there are few offers in the market, while sellers state that their phones are ringing, reflecting the demand from Turkish mills. “I believe some mills are trying to secure tonnages before IREPAS,” a source at a Turkish mill said. While sellers are not convinced higher levels can be achieved, most of them think that there is no room for a decline either. “Demand will remain firm as Turkish mills still need cargoes for May shipment. They can try booking them during IREPAS or the week after IREPAS,” a US scrap seller added. For now, SteelOrbis believes deep sea scrap prices have limited potential to move up, though all prices depend on the individual positions of Turkish mills.
Under the current conditions, the deep sea benchmark HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices in CFR terms have increased by 0.19 percent week on week. The prices are now 7.85 percent higher month on month in the deep sea segment, being in the range of $395.5-401.5/mt CFR.
Ferrous scrap prices in the local US scrap market began to settle late last week, with secondary grades in the Midwest falling by $20/gt ($20.3/mt) from March settled prices and with prime grades remaining sideways, aligned with SteelOrbis’ previous projections.
In Chicago, the price of #1 busheling remained at $450/gt ($457.2/mt) delivered to consumer, while shredded fell by $20/gt ($20.3/mt) to $430/gt ($436.9/mt) delivered, finally separating the grades by $20/gt, the usual spread between the two. HMS I in Chicago fell $20/gt ($20.3/mt) to $370/gt ($375.9/mt) delivered. In Detroit, it was a similar story, with #1 busheling remaining at $455/gt ($462.3/mt), while shredded dropped $20/gt ($20.3/mt) to $430/gt ($436.9/mt) delivered.
Prices for ferrous scrap to the US East Coast (USEC) docks remained unchanged this week for HMS I at $280-290/gt ($284.4-294.6/mt) delivered to export yard in New York and Philadelphia. Yet shredder feed to exporters in the same region rose to $265-275/gt ($269.2-279.4/mt) delivered this week from the previous week’s $260-265/gt ($264.1-269.2/mt) delivered. It has been a constant across the US East Coast, the Midwest and even Canada that there is currently a tight supply of shredder feed, as shredders selling to the domestic market are also looking for material.
Containerized ferrous scrap prices to the US West Coast (USWC) docks continued to climb this week as the price of HMS I/II 80:20 moved up to $335-340/mt FAS Los Angeles (LA) port from $325-335/mt FAS port last week. Containerized #1 busheling prices rose to $365-370/mt FAS LA port from $355-365/mt FAS port last week, while shredded increased to $355-360/mt FAS from $345-355/mt FAS port last week.
Containerized ferrous scrap on the US East Coast remained unchanged despite improving bulk prices. The price of containerized HMS I/II 80:20 is still reported at $325/mt FAS New York port, P&S 5ft at $345/mt FAS port, shredded at $345-350/mt FAS port, and #1 busheling at $355/mt FAS port.
Ferrous scrap prices in the Mexican domestic market continued to drop this week by an average of MXN 200-300/mt ($11.56-17.33/mt), depending on the grade and market. Further price drops have been announced by some buyers, at the -MXN 200/mt ($11.56/mt) level, for this weekend. During this latest downward cycle, some buyers have accumulated MXN 1,000/mt ($57.6/mt) in price decreases, while others have followed closely behind. The most cautious buyers have waited to implement the aforementioned MXN 200/mt ($11.56/mt) decrease this week after seeing drops from everybody else.
In Bajío, sellers report that mills are insisting on prime grades. The word “desperation” has been mentioned in regard to the difficulty of mills in the region in securing material. Some buyers were seen lowering the price of secondary grades by MXN 400/mt ($23.11/mt), yet leaving prices for prime grades unchanged from last week.
Domestic ferrous grades in Canada decreased by C$20/nt ($15.9/mt) for secondary grades in Toronto and Montreal for the April trading cycle, while prime grades increased by C$5/nt ($3.99/mt).
The increase in prime grades, according to Canadian sources, is due to adjustments to the US and Canadian dollar exchange rates over the past month to keep the margin consistent with US grades, so that Canadian scrap grades are not over- or undervalued relative to their US counterparts. Some contacts reported that their calculations, based on the exchange rate, warranted a C$8/nt ($6.39/mt) increase in prime grades, yet mills offered only the $C5/nt ($3.99/mt) improvement.
The leading Japanese EAF-based steel producer Tokyo Steel has announced a further increase in its local scrap purchase prices, effective from April 16. Although this week, the price increase is smaller than a week earlier, the producer’s latest price hike reflects persisting firm demand in Japan and a gradual reduction in scrap inventories. Tokyo Steel’s price for H2 grade has added JPY 500/mt ($3/mt) this time as compared to last Friday, to JPY 53,000/mt ($333/mt).
While the impact of last week’s sharp price increase in Japan’s Kanto scrap export tender continues to disrupt availability of Japanese scrap for Taiwanese steel mills, sources also report that there is also a low number of offers from the US West Coast. Import scrap prices for Taiwan are under upward pressure, though so far only ex-US West Coast prices have managed to move up slightly. Meanwhile, concerns regarding scrap availability are forcing Taiwanese producers to accept higher price levels for local scrap.
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 $356-360/mt CFR to $360-362/mt CFR. Actual prices in ex-US deals have moved up from $353-354/mt CFR to $357-358/mt CFR. Only one ex-Japan offer has been heard this week at $379/mt CFR.
Vietnamese buyers have accepted a $10/mt increase for Japanese H2 grade scrap this week, while scrap offers from the US have remained rather stable week on week. Ex-US bulk HMS I/II 80:20 scrap offers to Vietnam have remained at around $400/mt CFR. With only a few ex-Japan scrap offers to Vietnam available, Japanese H2 scrap offers are at $385-390/mt CFR, while the actual price for this grade is now standing at $385/mt CFR.
Pakistan’s import scrap market has remained largely firm over the past week, though tradable prices have eased slightly from the peaks seen last week as buyers are still cautious and most major bookings were concluded earlier last week. More specifically, offers for ex-UK/EU shredded scrap have been heard at $428-435/mt CFR this week, compared to $425-435/mt CFR heard last week, while buyers’ price ideas have been reported at $420-425/mt CFR, versus the $425-430/mt CFR levels heard last week. According to sources, while ex-UK/EU shredded scrap has been offered at $430/mt CFR, a few deals have been signed at around $425/mt CFR Qasim. No fresh offers for ex-UAE material have been heard in the market this week, with Middle Eastern cargoes remaining largely absent. Market participants report that the UAE market is effectively closed for Pakistan at present, while ongoing uncertainty regarding shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has kept sellers away. As a result, buying interest has shifted further toward the UK, Europe and Africa, with ex-South Africa shredded scrap booked at $417/mt CFR Qasim, according to market sources.
Bangladesh’s import scrap prices have moved up further, with both containerized and bulk scrap prices increasing compared to the previous week, though sentiment has remained cautious and trading activity has stayed limited, with buyers focusing mainly on immediate requirements. More specifically, ex-EU/UK HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in containers have been heard at $390-392/mt CFR Chattogram, compared to around $380/mt CFR Chattogram heard last week, while ex-EU/UK shredded scrap in containers have been heard at around $420/mt CFR Chattogram, versus around $405-420/mt CFR heard last week. Besides, offers for ex-Australia shredded scrap in containers have been heard at $415-418/mt CFR Chattogram, while ex-Australia PNS scrap has been sold at $426/mt CFR Chattogram and ex-Australia HMS I scrap has been sold at $394/mt CFR Chattogram, according to sources. In the bulk segment, offers for ex-Japan H2 scrap have been heard at around $415/mt CFR Bangladesh, up by $15/mt week on week.