During the previous few weeks, transaction activity in Turkey for scrap from the Black Sea region has been lively, while Turkish buyers found ex-Black Sea scrap offers at $275-280/mt CFR to be reasonable and continued to make purchases. This week, ex-Black Sea scrap offers to Turkey for A3 grade scrap have remained stable week on week at $275-280/mt CFR, though acceptance of these levels has started to become scarcer.
In the last few days, Turkish producers' finished steel sales in their domestic market have slackened and this has been reflected in their demand for scrap, with transaction activity for deep sea scrap starting to slacken. In particular, it is heard that a Turkish steel producer concluded an ex-US scrap deal towards the end of last week at below its previous transaction prices, causing market players to wonder whether import scrap prices, which have been increasing gradually in the current month, have switched to a downtrend. This situation has been reflected in the market for ex-Black Sea scrap in Turkey, with Turkish steel producers started to make firm bids at $265-275/mt CFR. Currently, Turkish steel producers are hesitating to conclude new scrap bookings from the Black Sea region and are instead adopting a wait-and-see stance, stating that they will stick to the price levels in their new firm bids.