On July 12, SteelOrbis reported that the lower export pricing along with lower domestic offers on cut grades towards the end of the July scrap buy-cycle were expected to place some downward pressure on the US domestic scrap market in August. Turkish import prices from the East coast have declined further since then along with export prices on the West coast with deals with Taiwan and South Korean buyers.
In the US domestic market, sources report strong demand for scrap but attribute the decline in prices to the export effect along with a slight overhang of inventories at scrap yards. Additionally, some mills have been able to improve their scrap inventories over the past month as planned maintenance outages reduced consumption as well as improved delivery schedules in some cases. From discussions with contacts in the Ohio and Pennsylvania Midwest region, scrap yard dealers are expecting for prices to drop $20/gt ($20/mt) on cuts such as P&S and HMS I as well as shredded. Prime scrap grades such as busheling are expected to decrease up to $10/gt ($10/mt).
JSW’s Acero Junction site in Ohio initially inquired for scrap inventories for August but has since “gone silent.” While some believe they may enter the market to purchase scrap towards the end of the month, a source in the relevant Ohio region found their September start up “questionable and highly unlikely.”
The US domestic scrap August scrap buy-cycle is expected to settle by late this week or early next week.