Several deals have surfaced in Turkey’s import scrap market today, October 21, though they were mostly done last week. With these deals, Turkey’s deep sea scrap purchases for November shipment have almost been completed, if not already completed, while prices have indicated a slight increase. Demand and supply are balanced in the market, with neither buyers nor sellers in a rush to do deals.
Earlier last week, a Marmara-based steel producer concluded an ex-Germany deal with HMS I/II 80:20 scrap standing at $344.5/mt CFR, and an ex-Poland booking was made at $346-347/mt CFR. Meanwhile, a mill in the Izmir region concluded an ex-Germany booking late last week for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $345.5/mt CFR.
Late last week, an Izmir-based steel producer concluded two transactions from Scandinavia and Lithuania with the HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices at $348.5-349/mt CFR, for shipment in late November and early December. According to sources, a Marmara-based steelmaker also concluded an ex-Baltic for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $350/mt CFR, though this deal was not confirmed by the buyer or the seller by the time of publication. Another ex-Scandinavia deal was closed by a Black Sea region-based Turkish mill at $347/mt CFR for the same grade.
As a result, SteelOrbis’ reference prices for ex-UK/EU scrap have been revised to $344-345.5/mt CFR, moving up by $1.25/mt. For ex-Baltic scrap, prices have been revised to $346-350/mt CFR, up by $1.5/mt. SteelOrbis reference prices for ex-US scrap remains at $350-353/mt CFR.
With the above bookings and the others rumored but not confirmed last week, Turkey has mostly met its needs for deep sea scrap for November shipment, and the market may remain mainly silent until Turkey starts to buy for December shipment, though some sources think there will be some more deals for November shipment. “I think we are done with November, we can expect a slower market for at least ten days. There are no stressed cargoes left. There are no buyers in a rush,” a European scrap seller said today. Another source in Europe commented, “Yes, Turkey has concluded a lot of deals and is very relaxed for the rest of its November shipments. But there is also a balance in the market. Despite the low number of available cargoes in the market, every seller offering a cargo managed to sell it very quickly without a decline in price. I believe this shows that deep sea scrap prices are firm.” Although the softening in China has been mentioned by Turkish mills, the current price levels or delivery period for Asian billets are still unattractive as compared to scrap. Scrap collection prices are not moving down, and have even increased slightly in the US. Sea vessels are still more expensive than usual. “If freight softens, it can give an edge to sellers. But we do not expect a quick change in that regard. We anticipate a gradual decline eventually,” a source added. Turkish mills may show more interest in short sea scrap cargoes in the coming days to secure their inventories. It is known that they are working with short stock periods. Some sources think that, with each new finished steel order Turkish mills receive, they will need to secure more scrap. Turkey’s import scrap market is expected to remain firm in the short term unless a change in collection costs or freight rates is seen.
