Deep sea scrap prices in Turkey have continued to move up in an ex-US scrap deal done by a steel producer in Iskenderun. Turkish mills are expected to accelerate their purchases this week, while some sources believe that waiting too long could push prices up further.
SteelOrbis has learned that the ex-US scrap booking done by the Iskenderun-based producer was for 16,000 mt of HMS I/II 90:10 scrap at $418/mt CFR, 11,000 mt of shredded scrap at $433/mt CFR and 2,000 mt of P&S grade scrap at $433/mt CFR, for June shipment. The price indicates that the HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices from the US are now at $414-415/mt CFR, moving up by $3/mt week on week.
As SteelOrbis reported previously, scrap prices to the US East Coast (USEC) docks remained unchanged as HMS I in New York and Philadelphia was stable at $280-290/gt delivered to export yard. Turkey’s needs for scrap for June shipment are on the high side, which supports suppliers’ firm offers. “We have seen that US-based suppliers were expecting prices to hit $420/mt CFR quicker and that price is still not there. Technically, Turkish mills’ resistance to higher prices since IREPAS has been successful,” a scrap supplier commented. The Turkish finished steel segment is still the main obstacle in the way of higher scrap prices. Currently, local 12 mm rebar prices in the spot market in Turkey are in the range of TRY 32,000-32,800/mt ($588-602/mt) ex-warehouse. Additionally, today, May 13, Turkish steelmaker Kardemir decreased its billet prices by $5-10/mt to $530/mt for S235JR and $540/mt ex-works for B420 grade. Within a short time after its announcement, the producer succeeded in selling 98,700 mt of billet and then closed its sales. “The announced price was good for the buyers and yet it didn’t reflect a massive discount from Kardemir. Almost everyone from the regular buyers booked 10,000 mt and above,” a trading source told SteelOrbis. Import billet offers from China to Turkey inched up early this week to $540/mt CFR for early July shipments, up from $535-537/mt CFR at the end of last week.
