Two deep sea bookings from the EU and the US have been disclosed to the import scrap market today, November 25. While European scrap prices have remained firm, the ex-US scrap price is lower than the previous levels.
SteelOrbis has learned that an ex-Belgium scrap deal was done by a Marmara-based producer, with the cargo consisting of 30,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap, 5,000 mt of shredded scrap and 5,000 mt of a mixture of P&S and HMS I scrap at the average level of $492/mt CFR. According to this information, the benchmark scrap quotation is estimated to be around $487/mt CFR. Prior to this deal, European benchmark quotations were at $487-489/mt CFR fixed in deals.
Meanwhile, the same producer has concluded another deal from the US for 25,000 mt of HMS I/II 95:5 scrap and 15,000 mt of bonus grade scrap at the average level of $508/mt CFR. The cargo will be shipped in December. This booking signals around $491-494/mt CFR for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices, depending on the premium for HMS II/II 95:5. Prior to this transaction, ex-US benchmark quotations were at $493-498/mt CFR fixed in deals.
Market players state that the dollar-euro exchange rate is helping European sellers. There are offers from the deep sea side to Turkey, and demand is recovering. Hence more deals can be heard before the current week ends. However, as Turkish mills are still failing to conclude export sales, the possibility of carrying out postponed maintenance works is rising. A steelmaker stated that they are expecting another round of purchases from local rebar traders ahead of the winter as the latter’s inventory levels are on the low side, and that producers’ order books leave no room for maintenance works until late January. However, if the current demand situation continues through January, then rebar producers may use this period for maintenance works. One Iskenderun-based mill has already announced that they will be starting 25-day long maintenance works, aiming to update their electric systems and a new power distribution unit to decrease their energy costs.