Italian scrap market sluggish amid few purchases and some slight corrections

Purchase prices in the scrap market in Italy have remained largely unchanged this week: the widespread sluggishness of trade in the finished steel market and the slight slowdown in production rates by mills have led scrap prices to remain largely stable in the absence of specific drivers.

According to sources, most scrap purchases have been concluded at unchanged prices or with slight downward corrections, while some upward adjustments have been granted for purchases of higher-quality scrap used for the production of special steel.

Overall, however, the situation has been described as "sluggish" by most market players, also due to the silence and absence of transactions in international markets, in particular as regards imports by Turkey, where scrap purchases continue to be stalled amid the widespread weakness in the finished steel market.

As a result, scrap prices in the domestic market in Italy have been reported at the same levels mentioned above, as shown in the table below.

Prices include delivery and exclude VAT.