As of today, February 27, Turkey’s appetite for import scrap has slowed down, while prices have remained relatively stable. The upward support for prices has decreased over the past week as the number of buyers seeking deep sea cargoes has slowly declined in recent days. Market sources report that there was higher number of buyers in the market earlier this week, while today Turkish mills are more inclined to wait and monitor the situation in the steel segment.
SteelOrbis has learned that an ex-Germany scrap booking has been done by an Izmir-based producer for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $359/mt CFR and shredded and bonus grades at $379/mt CFR.
A rumor of an ex-Belgium deal surfaced in the market late yesterday, with the average price reported at $363/mt CFR. Market sources reported that the cargo consisted of 25,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap and $15,000 mt of bonus and shredded scrap. This information was not confirmed by the buyer or the seller, though several market players said the deal was in fact done. The estimated HMS I/II 80:20 scrap price in this deal would be $355.5/mt CFR, with the traditional gap between HMS I/II 80:20 and premium grades being $20/mt. As a result, SteelOrbis reference price for ex-EU scrap has increased by $0.75/mt on average.
Meanwhile, a German sub-collector has reported that the collection prices of European exporters are still in the range of €305-310/mt DAP. “In a normal day, for example, the domestic price of bonus grades is at least €30/mt higher than the price paid by the export yards. Today, though, the gap between the prices is only €3/mt. Domestic scrap prices in Germany are rising, already up by €10-20/mt. But due to slower production, producers are showing little interest in scrap and their purchase volumes are down. Hence, for us [the sub-collectors], sending scrap to export yards is more attractive,” he said. Turkish mills are trying to understand the levels of demand for steel, while several of them want to see the situation next week. On March 1, Ramadan will start and usually the first days of Ramadan are slow for trading. “I believe there will be some demand this year instead of a slowdown. This demand will not mean a start of the construction season, but I believe it will be temporary. Nevertheless, the price may move towards $370/mt CFR,” a source added. Another player said nothing will change this year, commenting, “I do not expect a demand recovery for rebar, so maybe we are settling for a sideways movement next week [for scrap].” All sources SteelOrbis talked with today agreed that the positive sentiment in the EU is the result of the significant optimism in the US scrap market, but Turkey’s domestic rebar market is struggling to follow suit.