Ahead of the Christmas holiday, it became clear that Turkish mills were more willing to pay higher prices for scrap in anticipation of a harsh winter. This week has been largely quiet in terms in new bookings due to many taking time off during the holidays; but on Monday, a cargo composed of HMS I/II, shredded scrap and P&S scrap was sold off the US East Coast to Turkey at $400/mt CFR, up from scrap purchased two weeks ago at about $388-$390/mt CFR. About a week and a half ago, another mixed cargo was sold for approximately $395/mt CFR. Turkish mills have become more aggressive in recent trading days as they begin securing the necessary scrap to avoid a winter shortage.
In the US domestic market, extreme winter storms in much of the Midwest have already tightened scrap flows in some major buying regions, and coupled with the recent improvement in both export buying activity and prices, US domestic scrap prices are likely to settle higher in January. Nonetheless, with activity this week nearly non-existent, the scrap trend isn't likely to be clear until the end of next week.