The Italian scrap market has registered a downward trend this week, with producers’ scrap purchase prices declining by €10-20/mt. Scrap demand continues to be modest, but steel production has resumed at a good pace. This means that, overall, scrap inventories at Italian mills are still on the high side.
"[Scrap] demand has recovered from post-holiday levels, but there is no race for scrap. I must say, however, that September was a good month all in all," an Italian scrap trader said. The same source and other sources interviewed by SteelOrbis said they believe that the scrap market in Italy will record - and is already recording - price declines in October compared to September levels, but that scrap demand, though modest, seems to be holding up.
"Production continues, albeit at reduced capacity," the representative of an Italian mill said. In addition, scrap availability continues to be enough to cover scrap demand, and, according to several players, it will be buyers who will dictate the conditions for this month. According to reports, new scrap purchase contracts have been closed down €10-20/mt from the previous levels, although the most considerable declines, which correspond to the upper end of the range, have only been confirmed by producers who use monthly, rather than weekly, contracts. In the latter case, the declines recorded have been by €10-15/mt.
In light of the above, scrap prices on the Italian market this week have been reported at the following levels:
| Quality | Average spot price (€/mt) | Average spot price (€/mt) | Average spot price (€/mt) |
| Period | October 10 | September 25 | September 12 |
| Turnings (E5) | 255-285 | 275-280 | 280-300 |
| HMS (E1/E3) | 265-285 | 270-295 | 280-300 |
| Shredded (E40) | 300-325 | 325-330 | 330-345 |
| Busheling (E8) | 300-320 | 315-325 | 320-335 |
Prices include delivery and exclude VAT.
