The October scrap trade cycle has gotten off to a slow start, sources note, adding that they hope to have more clarity on Midwest, Ohio Valley, and Southern scrap prices before end of business on Thursday.
“It’s been very quiet,” one source said, noting that most sellers were waiting for firm offers. Others have said they’ve heard that yesterday, David Joseph was testing down $20/gt, for all grades in the South / Southeast, but it appears that sellers had no interest. “Nothing has been finalized yet, but as of today, I’m getting more of a sideways vibe,” another source added.
“Scrap flows have slowed some, and they’re nowhere near as strong as they were in the summer,” a third source said. “You also have to take into account that export is up slightly, and it doesn’t appear as if the docks have an abundance of inventory, so we expect the (East coast) exporters might need to raise prices in the near future.”
These factors, among others, such as still-robust finished steel prices, have many sellers reluctant to accept downward pricing.
As far as current settled scrap prices, prices on the West coast have settled at sideways, whereas prices in the Northeast have also settled at “mostly stable” for HMS, P&S, and shredded scrap. Bushelling scrap, however, settled at down $20/gt which was previously expected.
Settled scrap prices in other regions are expected to emerge by the end of the week.