Import scrap prices continue to increase in Turkey, partly supported by some steel product sales. One of the Marmara region-based Turkish mills has recently booked two deep sea cargoes, both reflecting some sizeable price rise.
One of the scrap lots has been purchased from the US at $275/mt CFR for HMS I/II 80:20, $280/mt CFR for shredded and $285/mt CFR for bonus grade. With the mentioned sale, the HMS I/II 80:20 scrap benchmark price has moved up by $7/mt compared to the previous deal, SteelOrbis estimates.
Another deal has been closed with a UK-based supplier at $270/mt CFR for HMS I/II 80:20 and $280/mt CFR for bonus grade. As a result, ex-Europe scrap prices are now at $270/mt CFR, while previously the levels were increasing only indicatively following the general market trend.
Same as previously, Turkish mills prefer to first sell sizeable steel product volumes before taking some serious steps in scrap restocking. The buyer of the abovementioned deep sea cargoes has sold up to 150,000 mt of steel billets to MENA region since last week at around $395/mt FOB on average.
In the short sea segment, around 3,000 mt of A3 grade ex-Rostov have been booked to Turkey’s Black Sea region at $269/mt CFR, which means the earlier targeted level has been achieved. No fresh transactions were reported from Romania and Bulgaria: however, the sources estimate the prices should be closer to $265/mt CFR now versus $260-263/mt CFR fixed earlier for HMS I/II 80:20 grade.