The local Italian scrap market is under a certain amount of pressure at the current time. The margins gained by prices at the beginning of September and which boosted the atmosphere in the market have now disappeared completely.
During last week, scrap prices in Italy dropped quickly, as mills were not using all the scrap they had previously bought. At the beginning of this week an improved situation has been observed, with low arrivals and a new equilibrium established between supply and demand.
Deal prices for scrap in the Italian market are currently as follows:
Demolition: €165-180/mt delivered
Shredded: €175-195/mt delivered
Busheling: €180-200/mt delivered
In some cases, relations between scrap suppliers and steel producers have become somewhat frayed, with some suppliers reluctant to give in to producers' requests to lower prices and refusing to sell scrap to them. As a result, the price range for the same type of scrap material can sometimes be on the wide side.
In terms of availability there are no big problems, with shredded and busheling scrap now more widely available due to the recovery of the automotive sector.
Currently, it is not possible to make any forecast about the likely future trend of the local Italian scrap market since everyone is waiting to see what happens in the Chinese steel market. Given the overcapacity in China, market players in Italy are scared about the possibility of very low import offers for finished products from this country, in which event scrap prices could enter a downtrend.