After registering a slight increase in the beginning of the month, US
scrap prices have held steady and are expected to continue trending sideways in February.
The US
scrap market continues to be quiet due to the lack of demand, but at the same time,
scrap supplies are staying level because of the cold weather as well as the auto and
manufacturing industry
production cutbacks.
Although $90 billion of the new US administration's economic recovery plan is slated for infrastructure projects, steel will not be significantly impacted in the short term, which means that domestic steel and
scrap demand will most likely remain unchanged for awhile. Market sources expect US
scrap prices will trend sideways throughout the first quarter and that domestic mills’
production and
scrap buying will slowly resume in the second quarter of the year.
Current East Coast busheling
scrap prices still range from $270 to $280/lt. Shredded
scrap is sold for $260 to $270/lt, while HMS I prices range from $210 to $220/lt.
On the export side, Turkish producers are focusing on finished products sales and have slowed down their
scrap purchasing activity this week. Ex-US
scrap prices to
Turkey remain unchanged at the level of $285/mt CFR for HMS I/II 80:20; $290/mt CFR for shredded
scrap; and $295/mt CFR for P&S
scrap.