The situation in the local German scrap market has not changed much compared to last week’s report, and local prices are confirmed at sideways to slightly upwards. According to sources, players are operating in a balance between scarce demand and scarce offers, meaning that the low availability of scrap is enough to cover the low scrap demand coming from producers.
Finished steel demand is in fact sluggish again, although quite in line with the expectations for the period. Thus, production of finished steel continues, but “[sales] prices are what they are”, a source said. They seem to have moved up a little, but still not enough to cover the increasing costs of energy and gas.
Some market players have been especially pessimistic when it comes to the economic situation in Germany, and they do not believe that the coming elections in February will improve general business inactivity. “The economy in Germany has never been worse. I don’t think Scholz will have a chance this time, as people are tired,” a source commented. According to another source, one of the most likely winners might be the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party.
As mentioned earlier, scrap demand and scrap offers are mostly balanced. A trader said that their sales prices to Italy are unchanged compared to December with only small corrections seen, with Italian sources confirming this.
The same happened in the local German market, with an exception for E1, for which the purchase prices from mills have indicated the highest upward correction due to the extreme scarcity of this grade. This is also the reason why demand for this grade has increased, especially from Italy.
A local German trader said he believes that this “market boredom” is not due to a wait-and-see stance by players in view of the upcoming elections, but due to the fact that the poor inflow is fully covered by the poor local demand. “We are waiting for a move from Turkey. In my view, there is room for [scrap price] increases, but only slightly and only because the market there seems to have reached the bottom.”
As for collection prices, a sub-collector in Germany said he believes that they have also reached the bottom, and he refuses to sell under the €285/mt DAP threshold.
According to the latest data provided by the Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Stahlrecycling-und Entsorgungsunternehmen e.V, in the first 20 days of January scrap prices moved down by €1.0-1.9/mt month on month for E2/8 and E3, while they increased by €1.9-4.0/mt for the other grades. On year-on-year basis, scrap prices indicated declines ranging from €31.8/mt to €61.4/mt.
The prices are provided by Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Stahlrecycling-und Entsorgungsunternehmen e.V. (BDSV) and are average prices for domestic transactions across Germany in the first 20 days of the given month.
Scrap grade |
Price: January 2025 (€/mt) |
Price: December 2024 (€/mt) |
Price: January 2024 (€/mt) |
Monthly Change (€/mt) |
Annual change (€/mt) |
E1 - Old steel scrap |
261.3 |
257.3 |
321.9 |
+4.0 |
-60.6 |
E2/E8 - New steel scrap |
305.4 |
306.4 |
356.8 |
-1.0 |
-51.4 |
E3 - Heavy old steel scrap |
301.2 |
303.1 |
353.0 |
-1.9 |
-51.8 |
E40 - Shredded scrap |
302.0 |
299.9 |
363.4 |
+2.1 |
-61.4 |
E5M - Steel turnings |
250.3 |
248.4 |
282.1 |
+1.9 |
-31.8 |
Specifications:
E1 - Old steel scrap: thickness ≥ 4 mm, maximum dimensions 1,5 m x 0,5 m x 0,5 m
E2/E8 - New steel scrap: maximum dimensions 1,5 m x 0,5 m x 0,5 m
E3 - Heavy old steel scrap: thickness ≥ 6 mm, maximum dimensions 1,5 m x 0,5 m x 0,5 m
E40 - Shredded scrap: excluding incinerator steel scrap and collection scrap; density ≥ 1,1 mt/m3, Fe ≥ 92%
E5M - Turnings: excluding iron and automatic steel turnings
