While the deep sea scrap import scrap segment in Turkey remains silent for now, some business has been observed for short sea scrap, which has indicated a significant fall in deal prices in two separate steps.
Market sources surveyed by SteelOrbis have reported that ex-Romania HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices at first fell to $225/mt CFR Turkey, versus $230-235/mt CFR mainly voiced last week. Then, with the most recent ex-Romania deals for small tonnages they have once again decreased to $216-217/mt CFR. Currently, while suppliers are trying to avoid further discounts, bids have been reported at as low as $210/mt CFR.
Ex-Rostov A3 scrap is on offer at $230/mt CFR as suppliers have been showing stronger resistance to the general downtrend. However, players expect prices to weaken, specifically due to the weakening of the ruble.
Meanwhile, on the deep sea scrap side, estimations are not higher than $230-235/mt CFR Turkey, though some market players expect lower levels since Turkish mills seem hardly to be in a position to purchase at high levels. “Local rebar sales have almost stopped, so there are some production concerns. Mills will insist on low scrap prices to be on the safer side,” a Turkish producer told SteelOrbis.
While scrap demand is foreseen to be limited for now, players have also been trying to estimate the situation on the supply side. Sources have been reporting some serious slowdown in scrap collection in the key supplying regions as a result of measures taken in order to curb the spread of the virus.