As SteelOrbis had anticipated in last week’s report, scrap purchase prices from local mills in Germany have confirmed their decline by a range of €10-20/mt depending on the scrap quality and on the region.
“There is very little news coming from regional mills”, one source said. Long product demand in Germany remains weak and the local scrap trade is on the low side. Scrap demand is also poor from the local market and, as market sources have reported, scrap suppliers have been trying to sell their material to neighboring countries.
“The market is going through a rough time”, a local scrap supplier commented, adding, “My [scrap] sales volumes in October have been average for this period, but the conditions are not favorable for a price rebound. I don’t expect further reductions either, but I suggest using caution in this last quarter.” The same source underlined again that scrap deliveries, especially to Italy, are still hard. Another Italian supplier selling scrap to Germany agreed, saying that, due to the lack of trucks, deliveries can be costlier by €20-25/mt compared to the average of €50-55/mt from Germany to Italy. “I still have some material to be delivered from August or September orders”, he said, noting, “This situation is becoming critical”.
As for exports, HMS I/II 80:20 scrap collection prices at ports have increased a little compared to last week, and have now stabilized at €245-250/mt CIF, according to market reports. A source also mentioned that there are several offers to Turkey in the market.