Amid Turkish mills’ silent resistance to the general range of $368-375/mt CFR, import scrap prices in Turkey have lost strength over the past week. More ex-US bookings have surfaced, mostly from late last week, with prices indicating a softer trend.
Two ex-US bookings are reported to have been done by Marmara and Izmir-based producers for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $375/mt CFR, and shredded and bonus grades at $395/mt CFR. This price is similar to the figures recorded in the previous ex-US deals. A third deal from the US, on the other hand, done last week, closed at around $373/mt CFR for the same grade. Therefore, SteelOrbis has revised its reference price for ex-US scrap to $373-375/mt CFR, reducing it by $1/mt on average.
Meanwhile, another Izmir based producer is reported to have concluded an ex-Lithuania deal for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $372/mt CFR. As a result, SteelOrbis has revised its ex-Baltic scrap price to $372-374/mt CFR, lowering it by $1/mt compared to the previous levels. Market sources report that the prices in the above deals are $1-2/mt higher as compared to today’s workable levels since the deals were done last week.
As the current week proceeds, the import scrap market in Turkey is expected to remain relatively stable for the moment. “These $1-2/mt fluctuations are not that important for now. But the thing is a relatively negative sentiment has been observed in the market lately. I believe the pressure on deep sea quotations will increase,” a source commented. European scrap exporters are reported to have lowered their collection prices by €5/mt over the past week to €260-265/mt DAP, with the euro-dollar rate currently at 1.0-1.17. Meanwhile, the number of offers in the market has increased, which gives buyers some leverage. “Bearish sentiment is observed in Turkey’s import scrap market,” one supplier said regarding the current situation.
