The Italian scrap market has recorded little movement and relatively low demand this week, linked to uncertainties relating to the war in the Middle East, the lack of activity in international markets and a slowdown in production.
According to some sources, most of the contracts in the past week have been concluded at unchanged or slightly lower levels than previous prices - down between €3/mt and €5/mt - both in the local and import markets, especially from Germany. Scrap traders complain about lower-than-normal demand and widespread difficulty in finding material. "There is a considerable slowdown, both on the demand and supply side," said a source from the supply side.
The most discussed issues in the Italian scrap market this week have been related to increases in fuel costs, which strongly affect scrap transport by land both from abroad to Italy and from southern Italy to northern Italy. "Fuel costs have increased by 20 percent. Haulers need to update prices and it is difficult to close deals, as you cannot clearly predict the cost on long routes," an Italian scrap trader said.
Several market players have also compared the current situation with the pandemic and the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, when prices had risen significantly. Part of the current uncertainty and stillness is in fact due to the fact that people are waiting to better understand the extent of price increases in the markets.
Another aspect which is worth mentioning is related to the production slowdown by several Italian mills, which have adopted various strategies to keep electricity costs under control by reducing or idling production at one or more plants and for varying periods of time, from a few days to over a week.
One source, however, has also signaled an increase in scrap demand from a producer in northern Italy.
All this considered, scrap prices in the Italian market have been mostly unchanged this week, as shown in the table below.
| Quality | Average spot price (€/mt) | Average spot price (€/mt) | Average spot price (€/mt) |
| Period | March 12 | March 05 | February 12 |
| Turnings (E5) | 285-300 | 285-300 | 285-300 |
| HMS (E1/E3) | 280-315 | 280-320 | 280-320 |
| Shredded (E40) | 320-345 | 320-345 | 320-345 |
| Busheling (E8) | 330-340 | 330-340 | 330-340 |
Prices include delivery and exclude VAT.
