Italian scrap market sees weak demand and further price decreases

In the Italian scrap market, purchase deals have been concluded this week at lower levels compared to previous ones, with price decreases in line with SteelOrbis’ previous indications.

The few purchases made by Italian mills have been concluded at levels lower by €25-30/mt, though sales are currently coming only from suppliers that need to empty their inventories.

Indeed, such suppliers are trying to sell as much scrap as possible, fearing further decreases and accepting the proposed reductions. In contrast, those that do not need to sell prefer to wait for further developments after the summer shutdowns come to an end.

According to reports, two other Italian mills are said to have announced production stoppages in the coming weeks, the first as of Monday, July 20, and the second as of Monday, August 3, for about three weeks.

The second mill also stated that its production shifts are currently being suspended for about six hours a day during energy price peaks. “The slowdowns are significant,” a source at the producer said. “However, they allow us to regulate costs while also keeping finished steel inventories under control, as we are currently in a phase of oversupply.”

In light of the above, local scrap prices in Italy stand at the levels shown in the table below. It should be noted that, within the HMS scrap grade, E1 scrap stands at €275-285/mt, while E3 stands at €290-315/mt.

In addition, prices for the E8 grade may differ in the case of extended payment terms or special requests from some mills. More specifically, some sources have mentioned a range of €315-320/mt delivered.

Prices include delivery and exclude VAT.