Russian domestic scrap prices slide down

SteelOrbis has learned that several Russian steel mills in the European part of the country have decreased their procurement prices for A3 scrap by Ruble 100-300/mt ($4-12/mt). However, the current change occurred within the existing scrap price level of Ruble 5,900-7,800/mt ($227-300/mt). The current decreasing trend regarding scrap prices in the European part of Russia can be explained by the slowdown in purchases of ex-Russian A3 scrap in the world market. Since the steel mills in the European part of Russia, especially those located in close proximity to the Black Sea and Baltic Sea ports, are from past evidence the most vulnerable to both fluctuations in export scrap prices and increases in export purchase activities, they first reacted to the weakening prices of export scrap by decreasing their procurement scrap prices.