Following the ex-Canada and ex-US scrap deals disclosed to Turkey’s import scrap market early this week, no significant deep sea booking has been shared with the market since Wednesday, June 16, and SteelOrbis’ estimated prices for benchmark HMS I/II 80:20 scrap have moved sideways in the range of $495-502/mt CFR Turkey.
While an ex-Venezuelan deal was reported for 13,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $490/mt CFR, for prompt shipment, this tonnage is believed to be an addition to a previous deal done by an Izmir-based producer.
Having digested the recent decreases in deep sea scrap quotations in Turkey, market players from various seller regions indicated that they believe that prices have settled at around $500/mt CFR for deep sea HMS I/II 80:20 scrap. It is clear that Turkish mills are focusing on maintaining the larger-than-usual spread between scrap and rebar prices, while additionally SteelOrbis has learned that some mills are receiving price inquiries from the Far Eastern market. According to most market players, Turkish mills have concluded enough deep sea bookings for July shipment, and so they can wait and exert pressure on prices for the next 10-15 days. However, one market player said that Turkey still needs more deep sea cargoes and can wait until late June to conclude the needed bookings for July shipment. Turkey is expected to purchase around 40-45 deep sea cargoes for August shipment. One Baltic seller stated that price inquiries for deep sea scrap have slowed down, a view which has been seconded by a US-based supplier. All market participants agree that higher grade scrap categories such as shredded and bonus are hard to find, with some even saying that mills are now negotiating for shredded instead of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap. A major European scrap seller stated that they are keeping their offers to Turkey firm on the back of their high collection costs, strong local and foreign demand, and the shortage observed in prime grade scrap supply.
Meanwhile, SteelOrbis has been informed that Turkish mills’ firm bids for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap from Romania and Bulgaria are at around $450/mt CFR, while sellers’ offers are around $465/mt CFR. Demand is still on the low side in the short sea scrap segment, market players state, while some believe that demand may recover in the coming week.
