The first day of the week has been quiet, as usual, in Turkey’s import scrap market. While Turkey’s import scrap prices are rising, market players have started to voice concerns about the sustainability of the current levels. The performance of Turkey’s finished steel market has not changed much over the past month, though demand in the local long steel market is slowing down. Today, November 27, Turkish mills announced official domestic rebar list prices in the range of $580-605/mt ex-works. This shows that some producers are attempting to stabilize their rebar price levels. However, with the cold weather becoming more widespread in Turkey, and with floods seen in some of the main cities and regions over the weekend, construction activities are expected to slow down.
European export yards’ collection prices remain in the range of €310-315/mt DAP, not allowing much hope for a downward correction as the euro-dollar exchange rate remains at 1.09. Expectations regarding the local US scrap market were mostly positive before the Thanksgiving holiday late last week and the first indications will be received today when market participants return from the holiday. “As far as I see, there are two options. Turkish mills led mostly by flat steel producers can try to complete most of their bookings for January shipments and will be forced to accept higher levels, or they can take a break to observe the performance of steel sales before then,” a source commented. While there is still the possibility of cuts in steel production utilization rates in Turkey, no official announcements have been made yet in this regard.
SteelOrbis has heard that an Izmir-based producer has concluded an ex-Denmark deal for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $390/mt CFR, while another ex-Baltic booking was done by the same producer with HMS I/II 80:20 scrap standing at $388/mt CFR. As a result, ex-Baltic scrap prices are once again in line with ex-US prices.
