A stable to slightly upward trend has been observed in the local Polish scrap market over the past two weeks, with the exception of bonus scrap, which showed a slight decline in April.
According to IPHGZ, he Polish Metallurgical Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the average scrap purchase price for delivery to yards in April have been registered at PLN 1,096/mt (approx. €258/mt) for W2 scrap (equivalent to HMS I) and PLN 1,156/mt (approx. €272/mt) for W7 scrap (equivalent to bonus), respectively up by PLN 18/mt (€4.24/mt) and down by PLN 17/mt (€4/mt) compared to March.
Market sources have also reported that the Polish segment of long steel products is experiencing a slight but steady upward trend in sales prices, not so much due to an improvement in demand from end consumers, but to external factors such as cost increases – especially energy – and structural shortages of certain products such as wire rod.
Having said that, mills’ production will probably continue to remain unchanged for the rest of April and May, laying the foundations for a stable or slightly higher trend in scrap prices for next month as well.
Meanwhile, in the export segment, the main scrap importer – Turkey – has resumed purchases at a steady pace by accepting gradual price increases. This, in turn, led scrap exporters in Poland to increase their collection prices, which have been reported at around PLN 1,240/mt (€292/mt) for HMS I, "and even more, if the [scrap] quality is really good," a local exporter said. The level is €7/mt higher than the level recorded at the beginning of April, but with the current euro-dollar exchange rate at 1.17, margins are still unfavorable for exports.
1 EUR = 4.25 PLN
