Confidence in the US export scrap market's strength has dimmed somewhat after a week of minimal activity. Export scrap cargos to Turkey off the US East Coast have slowed and prices have fallen about $5-$6/mt CFR over the last couple weeks. A couple cargoes were sold this past week for $401/mt CFR for HMS I/II and $406/mt CFR for shredded scrap. Exporter sources indicated that Turkish mills may have ample scrap supply after booking heavily during the first half of the month, and may want prices to decrease further before fully resuming booking activity. While the US domestic market's scrap trend for February isn't likely to differentiate much from January's sideways moves, an indication of a weak US domestic market could fuel discount requests from Turkish mills.
Export scrap activity off the US Gulf Coast has also slowed with prices falling to about $425/mt CFR to India. On the US West Coast, when China reentered the market earlier in the month, it sparked optimism from exporters, but that activity has since waned. Meanwhile, container scrap cargos sold to Taiwan this past week were at approximately $385-$390/mt CFR, down about $5-$10/mt in the last week after prices climbed in early to mid-January. Demand from Taiwan is decent, according to exporter sources on the West Coast, and therefore prices are unlikely to decline considerably further.