Turkish mills bought more scrap cargoes late last week.
Following the deals closed at $401.5/mt CFR last Thursday, another ex-US booking was closed at $403/mt CFR by an Izmir-based steel producer, marking another increase in the ex-US scrap price by $0.75/mt. Turkey’s import scrap prices have moved up to $396.5-403/mt CFR in general.
In addition, an ex-Germany booking was done by an Izmir-based steelmaker with the HMS I/II 80:20 scrap price at $401/mt CFR. As a result, SteelOrbis has revised its ex-UK/EU scrap reference price to $399-401/mt CFR.
Uncertainties remain regarding the US-Iran peace talks. Earlier at the weekend, it seemed as though an agreement was being reached on transit through the Strait of Hormuz, but such hopes have been disappointed, which has impacted oil prices strongly. Meanwhile, the Chinese market has made a strong start to the week. The Turkish lira stands at 44.88 today, April 20, against the US dollar, moving towards 45 to the dollar. In general, SteelOrbis believes that scrap prices still have enough room to continue their slow uptrend in the short term unless the peace talks end with an agreement, while Turkish mills would like to cover some ground in meeting their scrap needs this week before going to Amsterdam for the IREPAS conference. Not much is expected to happen in terms of scrap purchases today as it is just the beginning of the week.
