The German scrap market showed a slight uptick in June, depending on the region and the purchasing needs of each steel producer, leading to an overall average increase of €11.02/mt, taking into account all scrap qualities.
In the meantime, however, there have been no major changes in market fundamentals, and scrap availability remains scarce, meeting moderate demand from steel producers. In addition, July is just around the corner, and it traditionally coincides with the summer holidays in Germany. Therefore, it is likely that several players will remain out of the market. “A month of flat calm is awaited,” a German scrap trader said. “Personally, I think the market will be subdued. Production stoppages will weigh on [the reduction in] demand, and collection will also be slow,” another source commented.
“The market is absent,” an Italian trader who imports scrap from Germany confirmed, adding, “I expect prices in July to remain stable, or to decrease slightly by €5-10/mt.” The growing international tensions are also having an impact on the market mood, generating uncertainty among players. Some think that an escalation in military tensions will soon lead to a price increase for finished products because of higher energy prices, and others believe that the market will again react in “wait-and-see mode”.
Contrastingly, the German economy is showing the first signs of improvement. In June, the IFO index - Germany’s business confidence index - rose to 88.4 points, up from 87.5 points in the previous month and exceeding initial forecasts of 88.1-88.2 points. According to media reports, this improvement would be due to the already announced government tax package to support companies in the form of a special fund of €500 billion for infrastructure investments that is starting to bring some optimism despite the strong concerns about the situation in the Middle East.
According to the latest data provided by Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Stahlrecycling-und Entsorgungsunternehmen e.V, in the first 20 days of June scrap prices increased by a range of €0.8-7.3/mt for all grades, except for E2/E8 scrap which suffered an average drop of €1.5/mt month on month. On year-on-year basis, scrap prices fell by between €37.9/mt and €63.9/mt.
The prices are provided by Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Stahlrecycling-und Entsorgungsunternehmen e.V. and are average prices for domestic transactions across Germany in the first 20 days of the given month.
| Scrap grade | Price: June 2025 (€/mt) | Price: May 2025 (€/mt) | Price: June 2024 (€/mt) | Monthly Change (€/mt) | Annual change (€/mt) |
| E1 - Old steel scrap | 253.0 | 245.7 | 311.3 | +7.3 | -58.3 |
| E2/E8 - New steel scrap | 297.3 | 298.8 | 356.7 | -1.5 | -59.4 |
| E3 - Heavy old steel scrap | 292.6 | 291.8 | 350.2 | +0.8 | -57.6 |
| E40 - Shredded scrap | 297.2 | 293.0 | 361.1 | +4.2 | -63.9 |
| E5M - Steel turnings | 251.3 | 250.2 | 289.2 | +1.1 | -37.9 |
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
