Turkey’s import scrap market expects a softening

Tuesday, 19 July 2022 17:10:05 (GMT+3)   |   Istanbul
       

Following the week-long holiday in Turkey, the market is expecting a price softening. The past week has been silent, with some unconfirmed rumours of deals closed in the range of $400-405/mt CFR. Following the ex-US scrap deals closed at around $410s/mt CFR, Turkish mills decided that prices were moving up rapidly once again, while they were still failing to sell steel at above $700/mt CFR. With the support of the holiday, they took a step back and decided to wait. Since the fundamental factors that caused Turkey to stay out of the international scrap market for a long time have not changed, the recent price increase was caused by postponed demand. Now that the urgent need for scrap imports has been satisfied, Turkish mills are once again asking for lower quotations.

“I think a balance will be met in the market after prices decline below $400/mt CFR for benchmark HMS I/II 80:20 scrap,” a source commented, “However, it is not easy to guess the bottom since we do not know the exact tonnage that Turkish mills need for the second half of August.” There are some ex-US and ex-Canada offers to Turkey, mostly for higher grades such as HMS I/II 95:5 scrap or HMS I/II 90:10 scrap at around $397/mt CFR. Offers from those regions were around $410-415/mt CFR last week. Also, there is a rumour of an ex-Denmark deal to a Marmara-based producer at $390/mt CFR. The seller in question was offering $415/mt CFR last week. As a result, SteelOrbis believes that the resistance of sellers to lower quotations is now broken. More deals are expected this week as Turkish mills need scrap for the second half of August. The future trend of prices is likely to be a slight decrease.

Meanwhile, the local steel market is waiting for the decision of Turkey’s central bank on interest rates to be announced on July 21. It is largely believed that the central bank will keep interest rates stable. Usually, the depreciation of the Turkish lira against the major currencies would lead to a recovery in steel trading, but, due to the economic difficulties in Turkey, traders state that they are not planning to take risks.


Similar articles

CISA: Coking coal purchase cost in China down 9.86% in Jan-Feb

28 Mar | Steel News

US scrap market still expecting sideways pricing in April

27 Mar | Scrap & Raw Materials

Ex-US deep sea scrap prices to Turkey increase, ex-EU prices relatively stable

27 Mar | Scrap & Raw Materials

Downtrend reverses in Pakistan’s import scrap segment

27 Mar | Scrap & Raw Materials

Average local Chinese scrap prices rise amid tight supply after previous decreases

27 Mar | Scrap & Raw Materials

Import scrap prices in India move up, but low bids prevent deals

27 Mar | Scrap & Raw Materials

Baltic countries and Czech Republic seek EU ban on ex-Russia scrap imports

27 Mar | Steel News

US iron and steel scrap exports down 12.9 percent in January

26 Mar | Steel News

European scrap prices move up above $385/mt

26 Mar | Scrap & Raw Materials

Wholesale metal scrap sales in Mexico decrease 15.6 percent in January

25 Mar | Steel News