With scrap negotiations in Germany concluded in March, the market is beginning to talk about April perspectives.
The situation has remained quiet overall this week, as market players are preparing for the Easter holidays that will last from April 3 until April 6.
In the meantime, the market is still struggling with rising fuel costs and the uncertainty deriving from the war in the Middle East. “The past two years have been particularly tough for Germany, and at the beginning of this year things were starting to get better. Now with this war, the little progress we had made seems to be at risk. We no longer see a positive outlook,” a representative of a local industry association has commented.
Other sources interviewed by SteelOrbis believe that scrap prices will remain mostly stable in April, as the market seems slow in accepting higher finished steel prices and scrap demand from mills is reported to be on the low side.
As for exports, sources have reported HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices at German ports at €287-292/mt DAP, up €7/mt on both ends of the range compared to last week. "Most of them [exporters] are paying €290/mt DAP but in some cases €292-292.5/mt DAP might be possible," one local German source said. "Higher levels are also due to low water levels in the Rhine and higher freight costs that are pushing transport prices up," he added.
