The local scrap market in Germany has been characterized by little movements in the first week of August, and the sentiment is that the situation will remain unchanged until the end of the month.
Rumors among market participants are already mentioning possible drops in mills’ scrap purchase prices by about €10/mt, driven by slower scrap consumption that derives from lower production of finished steel. During the month of August, in fact, maintenance and repair works will be carried out by several plants and the best trend market players can hope for is stability.
Finished steel orders remain poor, and low scrap availability continues to be covered by low scrap demand. “We might see some upticks in September, when the markets recover from the holidays”, a source commented, adding, “But uncertainty is still there. We will have to monitor the international situation and hope for better”. Another source reported that the construction industry in Germany is slowly returning to normal, which might give a little boost to finished steel demand.
In the meantime, the overall sentiment remains one of a wait-and-see, with most players hoping for the end of summer to bring some revival into the market.
