As usual, the last week of the month is turning out to be very quiet in terms of scrap deals in Germany, as monthly negotiations for scrap purchases in January have already been concluded and it is still early to start discussing February deals.
Scrap collection in January has been harder due to the cold winter weather conditions, especially when it comes to demolition scrap grades (i.e., E1 and E3). Low temperatures, as low as -20°C in Hamburg, have reduced the pace of work at construction sites, thus making collection of this scrap grade more difficult. As for higher scrap grades, the scarce quantities available can be attributed to the still slow industrial activity of the manufacturing segment in Germany.
According to market players, however, the scrap market outlook for February is a little more optimistic. Some of them are expecting higher demand from mills, and, with winter coming to an end, scrap availability in the domestic market should also be better. Better scrap demand, combined with higher availability of this raw material, leads to a perspective of unchanged prices in Germany in February.
“I’m expecting a roll-over [of local scrap prices in Germany], but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were slight upward corrections in next month's deals, as the market is still tense”, a German scrap trader commented.
In the meantime, sources have reported average scrap prices for delivery to mill in January at €270-280/mt for E1, €285-305/mt for E3 and at €295-310/mt for E2/E8.