Turkish scrap markets are calm

While a record number of scrap bookings were concluded in the Turkish scrap market during the first week of September, activity in the market has practically stopped since then in line with our expectations. In our previous analysis, we stated that the market would enter a slow period following the huge scrap purchases and that this would create pressure on prices. As we expected, all reports coming into SteelOrbis confirm that the Turkish mills are not very active in the market this week and very few suppliers of deep sea scrap are giving offers. A Turkish mill has concluded a booking of HMS I/II 70:30 scrap ex-UK at $271/mt CFR Nemrut level. No significant decreases are observed in the deep sea scrap offers as compared to the latest bookings. According to reports received, suppliers of scrap ex-Baltic Sea are giving offers at around $285/mt. However, these offers have not yet turned into orders. Regarding A3 scrap ex-Black Sea, certain mills state that they have received offers lower than the last price level heard at $274/mt CFR Turkish ports. While no bookings are reported to have been concluded for large-tonnage cargoes, we can talk about the possibility of Turkish mills concluding purchases for small-tonnage A3 scrap cargoes. Meanwhile, freight rates have increased significantly. Freight rates for US East Ports - Turkey are reported to have reached the $40-level.