With Turkish mills restarting their import scrap bookings, a new ex-US scrap transaction has been disclosed to the market today, October 9, indicating a further price decrease for prime grade scrap.
A Marmara-based Turkish mill has concluded an ex-US deal for 36,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $283/mt CFR and 2,000 mt of P&S grade scrap at $293/mt CFR, for November shipment. In the previous booking from the US disclosed yesterday, the benchmark HMS I/II 80:20 scrap price was at $285/mt CFR, for October shipment.
Some market sources expect a lively start to the coming week in terms of import scrap bookings, while the general view is that prices have room to move down further. All market participants are waiting for import scrap prices to settle with the conclusion of more deals. According to market players, Turkey traditionally increases scrap inventories before the winter arrives and still needs large tonnages of scrap for November shipment. Meanwhile, collection activities may also be impacted by the approaching winter, though some market intermediaries state that it is too early yet to feel its effects. Demand in the local Turkish rebar market is very slow, with traders mostly reducing their stocks, while some have even reportedly emptied them and buy only if they manage to seize an opportunity to sell right away. Also, it has been learned that most Turkish mills have all dimensions in their inventories. The lack of domestic rebar sales in Turkey also exerts pressure on the scrap segment.