After increasing rapidly during most of February, import
scrap prices in
Turkey had lost some of their upward momentum towards the end of the month and moved sideways temporarily. At present, import
scrap prices in
Turkey are observed to be moving up once again.
In the current week, Turkish steel producers' demand for import
scrap is strong, while
scrap suppliers' offer prices to
Turkey are higher than the price levels seen in previous deals. HMS I/II 75:25
scrap prices in the ex-
Europe deals concluded towards the end of last week were at $289/mt CFR, with the price of HMS I/II 80:20
scrap reaching $294/mt CFR in these deals. Although European steel mills'
scrap purchase prices for March have increased by €23-40/mt, depending on region and grade, Turkish steel producers' purchase prices are still more attractive for European
scrap suppliers.
Although demand in the local US
scrap market is strong, the tightness of supply has caused domestic
scrap quotations in the US to increase by $36-81/mt, also depending on region and grade. Especially, prime grade
scrap prices have moved up on the upper end due to the influence of strong demand. Ex-US
scrap quotations have also increased in other markets such as India, Taiwan and Pakistan. Also, US-based suppliers'
scrap offers to
Turkey for HMS I/II 80:20
scrap are heard to be higher than $310/mt CFR.
Turkish producers have also raised their domestic finished steel quotations, while their
scrap purchase prices this week are expected to be higher than the price levels seen in previous deals, while there are anticipations that the price of HMS I/II 80:20
scrap will exceed the $300/mt CFR threshold.