SteelOrbis' latest surveys of the local German scrap market have showed this week that, towards the end of the monthly negotiations for scrap purchases by German mills, local prices followed different trends compared to the levels recorded during the previous month.
Some producers have kept their price levels unchanged for their scrap purchases in June, while others have chosen to increase them by €5/mt or €10/mt. More specifically, the main German producer opted for an increase of €10/mt, ordering a very large amount of scrap. Another producer based in the same area of Germany has also chosen to increase prices, raising them by €15/mt, according to local sources. Two producers in northern and eastern Germany have increased their scrap purchase prices for June by €5/mt and €10/mt, respectively. "The situation seems to have stabilized at this new level," said one local trader.
Other producers, as anticipated, have chosen to keep their prices unchanged. After all, the market fundamentals have not undergone any modifications - scrap availability in the local market is still scarce due to the stagnation of Germany’s manufacturing sector, and, although representatives of some German associations have predicted a slight recovery of their economy by the end of the year, "it is only a forecast," a source commented. It is also worth noticing that, at the moment, scrap flows towards steel mills are greater than scrap flows into export yards, since, according to market reports, purchase prices at ports are reported at around €250/mt DAP for HMS I/II 80:20, while mills are willing to pay higher levels.
The sources interviewed by SteelOrbis, however, are not ready to make predictions about the future market trend yet, despite the winds of improvement coming from international markets, especially the local scrap market in the United States, which seems to be experiencing the positive short-term effect of tariff increases on steel imports.
