Scrap demand from Turkish mills still lacks strength

Turkish mills have not resumed their scrap bookings this week either, after the limited demand they showed for scrap last week. A few scrap transactions were concluded in Turkey last week, while prices remained almost unchanged as compared to the previous week.
 
Ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap offers early last week at $480/mt CFR did not show any significant changes in the transaction phase and the latest bookings were concluded at $479/mt CFR. In June so far, US domestic scrap prices have risen by $5-20/mt, depending on the grade and region. While there is decent scrap demand in the US domestic market, SteelOrbis has learned that Chinese steel producers have started scrap bookings from the US and have concluded some transactions at $500/mt CFR. Market operators state that, if scrap demand continues to be seen from Far Eastern steelmakers, scrap prices will likely indicate some increase. Meanwhile, in Turkey, no price softening is expected for ex-US scrap. Although no specific offers have been heard so far this week, the ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap price for Turkey is predicted at $480-485/mt CFR.
 
Last week's ex-Europe scrap transactions to Turkey showed some price reduction. Although a European scrap supplier's sales price for HMS I/II 70:30 is at $454/mt CFR, some suppliers were unable to reduce their prices below $460/mt CFR for the same grade material.
 
In the past week, a lot of ex-Black Sea A3 scrap transactions have been concluded in Turkey at $465/mt CFR. SteelOrbis has learned from market sources that Romanian A3 scrap offers to Turkey stand above $470/mt CFR, while ex-Russia and ex-Ukraine A3 scrap offers are at $465-470/mt CFR. In the meantime, Turkish mills' price idea for A3 scrap does not exceed the range of $460-465/mt CFR.
 
Last week, prior to the general election in Turkey on June 12, the finished steel market slowed down and this in turn caused Turkish steel producers to slow down their scrap purchases. Having been shaped by producers' demand for quite a while, in the coming period scrap prices are once again expected to take shape in line with demand from the Turkish mills.