Negotiations for the September round of scrap purchases in Germany have started this week. In general, scrap demand remains on the low side, and mills have decided to lower their scrap purchase prices by €10/mt on average amid sluggish market conditions, especially in the finished steel segment.
More precisely, the main producer in Germany, a mill in the north-west, and two mills in the east, have lowered their scrap purchasing prices by €10/mt, whereas prices in the south and southwest of the country have mostly remained unchanged or they have been lowered by €5/mt.
Generally speaking, “Mills do not want to buy large volumes and are uncertain”, a local scrap supplier commented. According to another supplier, demand remains stable compared to the last period and higher interest in higher scrap qualities has been registered.
In the meantime, market players are still worried about the consequences of an incident that happened recently at a plant in the north of Germany. Sources believe that such plant will remain closed for another four weeks, at least. But while the majority of their scrap purchase volumes are being temporarily redirected to other sites, some are convinced that the former will strategically remain closed until the end of the year amid poor market conditions in the finished steel segment. “It is now obvious that they [the owners of the plant] are trying to relocate their production elsewhere, as Europe is no more profitable. There are too many restrictions – socially, economically and bureaucratically”, a source claimed.
