Following the silence observed last week, an ex-EU scrap booking has been disclosed to the import market in Turkey at a slightly lower price.
SteelOrbis has learned that an ex-Netherlands deal was done by a Marmara-based Turkish steel producer for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $643/mt CFR, shredded scrap at $668/mt CFR and bonus grade scrap at $668/mt CFR. The cargo will be shipped in May. As compared to the previous ex-UK booking, the HMS I/II 80:20 scrap price is $8/mt lower. Also, the gap between HMS I/II 80:20 scrap and shredded scrap is $25/mt this time, as compared to the $30/mt recorded in the previous ex-UK transaction.
SteelOrbis observes that Turkish mills have started making price inquiries in the current week. As they need to buy a lot of deep sea scrap cargoes for May shipments, further bookings are expected to be heard this week. Despite the slight decrease recorded in ex-EU scrap prices, US suppliers are still maintaining a firm stance in their offers to Turkey. It is rumored that some US suppliers have decided to sell to Mexico instead of Turkey, as they have successfully found higher prices there, particularly for shredded scrap. The dock-delivered prices in the US for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap have continued to increase. European suppliers are reporting that scrap flow to yards is slow. “This European deal means Baltic prices will be at around $650/mt,” one seller commented.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s short sea scrap prices are still in the range of $620-625/mt CFR for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap. There are not many sellers in the market, and the silence in the deep sea scrap segment has led short sea sellers to maintain a wait-and-see stance as they want to see the prices in the deep sea segment before concluding deals.
Another factor impacting scrap transportation are the mines drifting from the shores of Odessa in Ukraine. Since there have been cases of the sea traffic in the Bosphorus being closed so that the Turkish navy can destroy such mines, now both deep sea and short sea scrap transportation has been compromised. “Particularly in the short sea segment, we feel the impact. Not just the Bosphorus but the Black Sea is also considered risky since one of the mines was found in Igneliada off northern Turkey, and short sea vessels are asking for higher prices and insurance companies are concerned,” a source commented.
