Turkey’s import scrap market remains active with new deals heard in the market, while orders from mills keep coming. Suppliers, on the other hand, remain a bit squeezed both in terms scrap allocation and profitability. No improvement has been seen in Turkish finished steel sales, which creates pressure on the uptrend in the scrap market.
According to market sources, a couple of other deep sea cargoes have recently been booked in Turkey apart from the ex-US deal reported yesterday. In particular, two ex-US sales were discussed in the market as closed at $259-260/mt CFR for HMS I/II 80:20. In addition, a transaction was closed for an ex-EU cargo at $254-255/mt CFR for HMS I/II 80:20. The Baltic suppliers were also rumored to have sold HMS I/II 80:20 scrap to Turkey at $260/mt CFR. Although the details of the mentioned transactions have not been disclosed to the market, deep sea pricing by regions has gained a bit more clarity.
In the meantime, US-based scrap sellers are trying to further increase the price to $265/mt CFR in offers, claiming that scrap flow is slow. The same reason applies to the European supply situation, SteelOrbis understands. Some sources say that ex-UK prices might exceed prices from continental Europe by $1-2/mt only. Baltic supply might be limited due to Russia’s quota issue, and prices are foreseen at the same levels as ex-US ones.
Turkey’s demand for short sea cargoes remains strong. According to the sources, a Russian supplier has sold 2,500 mt of A3 scrap to a Samsun region-based mill at $250/mt CFR. Other short sea suppliers have been evaluating the market.
As a result, although scrap has again inched up in Turkey, doubts as to whether the trend will be sustainable remain rather strong in Turkey. Some sources believe that scrap prices are close to their peak as significantly higher levels would be not workable for the mills in terms of costs. However, some expect prices to strengthen further.