With the new deals which have surfaced today, October 31, Turkey’s import scrap market is now considered to have hit the bottom.
An ex-US scrap deal was closed by an Iskenderun-based producer for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $363/mt CFR, with higher grades at $383/mt CFR. This price is merely $1/mt higher than yesterday's purchase price from the US, and so the SteelOrbis reference price for ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap is now in the range of $362-363/mt CFR, dropping by $1.5/mt.
Meanwhile, an ex-Netherlands cargo has been sold to a buyer in Turkey’s Black Sea region, with the HMS I/II 80:20 scrap price standing at $355/mt CFR. European prices had been expected to decline to this level. Some mentioned that the previous ex-Belgium booking was closed at an average of $363/mt CFR, indicating that the price for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap would decline to $355/mt.
As a result, SteelOrbis has reduced the lower end of the ex-Baltic HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices to $359-360/mt CFR, with the lower end of the price range down by $1/mt from the most previous ex-Baltic deal earlier this week.
Most market source believe that the downward trend of deep sea scrap prices has come to an end with the abovementioned deals, with some confirming the previous prices. Some European scrap market players report that the scrap flow in Europe is weak and, despite the lack of demand in the EU, prices remain stable in the local market. As SteelOrbis reported today, Turkish billet buyers have been insisting on lower billet prices, seeing the decline in the scrap segment. There has been a lack of attractive billet offers lately, so only small-volume deals have been done in Turkey’s import billet market. While there have been increases announced by the Iskenderun-based producer for rebars, market sources believe that they are getting ready for the tax exemption for the region to be terminated by the end of 2024. Southeastern Turkish producers were given several tax exemptions after the massive earthquakes which hit the region on February 6, 2023.
