SteelOrbis has learned of multiple ex-US deals to Turkish mills this week for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $229/mt CFR, shredded scrap at $234/mt CFR and bonus grade scrap at $239/mt CFR. These directly mirror the pricing of a previous 40,000 mt ex-US deal SteelOrbis reported last week.
Despite the temporary concern resulting from the attempted military coup in Turkey on July 15th and continued soft demand for Turkish semi-finished and finished goods, Turkey has continued with short and deep sea purchases of scrap to meet its needs. These last deals reflect a $13/mt CFR price increase across all grades as compared to ex-US transactions in early July. HMS I/II 80:20 scrap offers to Turkish mills continue to be heard at $233-235/mt CFR, but no deals closed yet at that rate.
Sources close to the market inform SteelOrbis that the increase in pricing of scrap was primarily due to the influence of reduced supply and only a slight increase in market demand. Scrap collection activity worldwide decreased through the summer as a result of the price decreases that trickled down to scrap collectors for the last several months along with the usual seasonal decline resulting from the summer heat.
Market participants note an increased demand for US scrap from Mexico, India, Bangladesh and Vietnam. While these latter countries primarily transact with the West Coast, the increased international demand is noted to influence the domestic sentiment in regards the strength of scrap pricing.
Due to seasonality, continued dampened total US export volume, demand and supply expectations for the fourth quarter, and stronger currencies, SteelOrbis has been informed of sideways expectations into August and hope of a slight uptick towards the middle of the month for September and October deliveries.