Russian domestic scrap purchase prices trend up

Domestic scrap purchase prices in Russia have been trending up lately, mainly supported by the positive sentiment in the flats segment and the expected seasonal demand improvement. Since late January, the domestic purchase prices for steel scrap in Russia have increased by around $13-24/mt (RUB 1,000-1,800/mt) depending on the region and the buyer, SteelOrbis has learned.

However, some market players do not find much logic in the current price policy of scrap buyers, both mills and exporters, taking into account the current increased export duty at €100/mt. Even though Turkey’s import scrap prices have been rising lately and exceeded $500/mt CFR in some deals, these levels are still not considered good enough for active exports from Russia. “There are no logical reasons [for the increase]. The mills’ stocks are normal, and the purchase schedules for February are the same,” a source told SteelOrbis. While rebar prices in Russia have remained relatively stable, flats offers for March have increased by RUB 6,000-9,000/mt ($67-100/mt) over the past month depending on the product group. The positive expectation for flats in Russia may be the factor keeping scrap prices high for now, but on the other hand the rebar pricing has remained stable over the past month.

Russia: A3 scrap purchase prices, RUB/mt ($/mt)

$1 = RUB 74.37