The local scrap market in Italy has remained mostly stable this week, as most market players are waiting for the end of the Easter holidays, hoping to see more clarity in the international landscape.
According to suppliers, scrap availability remains scarce, but at the same time mills do not have a great will to buy. Despite the upward movements observed in the international market, especially in import scrap prices in Turkey, Italian scrap traders are doubtful that a rebound of the same extent can also be translated into the domestic market, and they are expecting a mainly stable outlook for April.
Some of them, however, are confident that, after a long period of absence from purchases, mills will return to buy, accepting some slight increases in scrap prices. According to market rumors, some agreements have already been concluded with upward corrections, but these quantities are not enough to define a market trend.
In the meantime, benefiting from solid inventories, Italian mills continue to be careful. Steel production, however, will not stop during the Easter holidays (April 4-6), and this could generate new purchasing needs that would in fact lead to a potential - albeit slight - increase in scrap prices due to higher demand.
However, for the time being, most Italian producers are determined to keep their scrap purchase prices unchanged in April. "Even though rebar prices have moved up, scrap is remaining stable, and the last time scrap prices had moved up, rebar was declining or remaining unchanged," a representative of a major Italian mill said. "At the moment, our main concern comes from higher energy costs and higher prices of other raw materials, such as ferroalloys and electrodes," he concluded. The representative of another steel producer in Italy has reported the same struggles, stating, "For the first time we are forced to produce during the holidays in order to save some money on energy. It never happened before. We are worried about the future, because it will be difficult - if not impossible - to pass on these increases to the downstream market." The same producer also stated that they will slow down scrap purchases in April, refusing any request for a price increase both in the Italian and import markets.
As a result, scrap prices in the domestic market in Italy have remained mainly unchanged at the beginning of April, as follows:
| Quality | Average spot price (€/mt) | Average spot price (€/mt) | Average spot price (€/mt) |
| Period | April 02 | March 26 | March 05 |
| Turnings (E5) | 285-300 | 285-300 | 285-300 |
| HMS (E1/E3) | 280-315 | 280-315 | 280-320 |
| Shredded (E40) | 320-345 | 320-345 | 320-345 |
| Busheling (E8) | 330-340 | 330-340 | 330-340 |
Prices include delivery and exclude VAT.
