Turkey continues to buy deep sea scrap cargoes, with new deals disclosed to the market today, February 11, from various destinations. The uptrend of international scrap prices has also continued, impacted by collection issues and other raw material quotations.
SteelOrbis has learned that an Iskenderun-based Turkish mill has concluded a deal from the Baltic region. The cargo totals 38,000 mt of scrap, including 10,000 mt of shredded at $524/mt CFR, 9,000 mt of bonus grade scrap at $524/mt CFR and the rest of the cargo consisting of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $504/mt CFR. Before this deal, an ex-Finland cargo was bought with the benchmark HMS I/II 80:20 scrap price at $507/mt CFR.
A cargo from Klaipeda in Lithuania was sold to Turkey with HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $503/mt CFR, HMS I/II 90:10 scrap at $513/mt CFR and bonus grade scrap at $523/mt CFR. The buyer of this deal has not been disclosed but it is known that the total tonnage of the cargo is 40,000 mt. The cargo will be shipped in the second half of March.
Meanwhile, a Belgium origin cargo was bought by another Iskenderun-based producer, consisting of 25,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap and 5,000 mt of a mixture of HMS I and P&S grade scrap at the overall average price of $506/mt CFR. According to this information, the HMS I/II 80:20 scrap price is estimated to be at $502.5-503/mt CFR. Previously, an ex-Netherlands cargo was closed at $496/mt CFR for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap.
A German supplier stated that it has received some bids from Ghent in Belgium for bonus grades at €420/mt DDP and for HMS I/II at €400/mt DDP. Another European scrap supplier reported that scrap collection prices in the region are in the range of €395-400/mt. The lively trading and increasing prices in Asia support the sentiment in Turkey’s import scrap market, though prices have reached a point that leads to caution in the market. “We are very close to the $510s/mt CFR Turkey, and after that level Turkish mills may show some resistance to higher levels,” a source commented. A Turkish trader in the local rebar market stated that mills have announced their official rebar quotations at $740-750/mt ex-works, though some discounts are possible for larger tonnages. “At last, we saw $750s/mt ex-works from mills. Now, we shall wait and see if this level is achieved in the local rebar market,” the source added.
