An ex-US scrap deal has surfaced in the Turkish market, showing that the negative pressure exerted by Turkish mills has been successful. Despite rumors on April 9 of an ex-Netherlands booking at $365/mt CFR for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap, which were denied later in the day, the latest price drop in Turkey’s import scrap market is sharper than anticipated, with prices regressing to the levels recorded earlier in March, losing all the ground gained over the past month. On March 5, the average HMS I/II 80:20 scrap price in Turkey was at $362/mt CFR, while today, April 10, it stands at $363/mt CFR.
The ex-US transaction in question was closed yesterday, April 9, by an Izmir-based producer for HMS I/II 90:10 scrap at $369/mt CFR, with shredded and bonus grades at $386/mt CFR. The cargo will be shipped in May. The information shows that ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap is now priced at $366/mt CFR, $10.5/mt lower than yesterday’s estimations.
“There is a high number of offers in the market, especially on the EU side. The euro-US dollar exchange rate is still a problem for sellers, preventing them from taking aggressive steps,” a source reported. However, the local European scrap market is also moving down. Market sources report that the initial expectations of a recovery in EU scrap prices have changed to negative, and now European producers are cutting their domestic scrap purchase prices too. “A major European mill cut its prices by €10/mt but then raised the cut to €30/mt,” a source reported. Demand in the local EU scrap market is still on the low side due to the lack of steel demand from the manufacturing sectors. Scrap collection prices at European export yards are now at €280-285/mt DAP, declining by another €5-10/mt week on week. In rare cases, sub-collectors report that they received bids at €275/mt DAP for HMS I/II 70:30 scrap.
Meanwhile, US President Trump’s rapidly changing decisions on tariffs do not provide any assurance for the markets. In his latest move, Trump announced a pause for the enforcement of country-specific reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, setting individual tariff fees at a minimum level of 10 percent. The pause, Trump said, will allow up to 75 countries that have appealed to the Unites States more time to negotiate their tariff rates. At the same time, he has raised the “stacked” tariffs on China to a combined 125 percent.
Meanwhile, in the January-February period, Turkey's billet and bloom imports amounted to 628,088 mt, up 52.4 percent year on year. In the same period, Turkey's scrap imports amounted to 3.03 million mt, down 12.9 percent year on year, as previously reported by SteelOrbis.