Turkish mills have concluded two more deep sea deals. While European scrap has remained stable, ex-Baltic scrap prices have moved down slightly. There are rumours of limited rebar sales in the local Turkish market, but it is still debatable if this volume can support any stabilization of scrap prices.
An Izmir-based Turkish mill has concluded a booking from Finland, with HMS I/II 80:20 sanding at $349.5/mt CFR, and shredded and bonus at $369.5/mt CFR. The previous ex-Baltic deals were done at $351-352/mt CFR.
Meanwhile, a Marmara-based producer has concluded a deal from Germany for 20,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $346/mt CFR and 5,000 mt of bonus grade scrap at $366/mt CFR. The cargo will be shipped in early September. As a result, European scrap prices have remained stable for now.
An Amsterdam-based scrap exporter’s bid for scrap collection is currently at €270/mt DAP, though market sources report that scrap flow at this price level is still on the low side. A German sub-collector said, “Domestic scrap prices have not declined as much as initially expected. A Duisburg-based producer is paying €340-350/mt for bonus grades.” The majority of scrap market sources throughout the US still say they believe that August scrap prices are likely to trend sideways. Others, however, now believe the market may have a bit of upside to it. Another price hike in Turkey for industrial energy usage is expected in August. A source at one mill said that, if energy prices increase by 30 percent, the impact on costs will be roughly $16/mt, while if the hike is 50 percent, the impact will be around $25/mt. Under the current conditions, another rise in Turkish mills’ costs would mean lower competition in their traditional export markets where they barely make any sales. While some transactions were heard in the local Turkish rebar market this week, the total tonnage is estimated to be around 40,000 mt, with prices in the range of $550-560/mt ex-works. Exports are more limited. Due to the lack of steel demand, the sentiment regarding the future situation for the deep sea scrap prices and requirements of Turkey remains weak.