Bulk prices to the US East Coast (USEC) continued to fall on Tuesday, with contacts believing that the market has not reached bottom yet. Additionally, traders in the region remain expectant of the outcome of the domestic trading cycle for July, which is expected to begin this week. There is the latent possibility that cut grades, especially HMS I, could decrease by $10/gt in the domestic market.
In the meantime, the price of bulk HMS I to New York and Philadelphia docks softened by $5-10/gt to $255-260/gt delivered export yard, P&S 5ft fell by the same amount to $275-280/gt delivered, and shredder feed prices dropped by $10/gt to $210-215/gt delivered.
Some of the processors in Pennsylvania further west and closer to the Pittsburgh market (and hence the Midwest trade) report that they are not looking to the Philadelphia and the rest of the USEC docks during this sluggish streak in the export market. Some of these sellers are strategically positioned midway between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and can choose their market depending on which is offering the higher prices at the time. They report that they are only offloading “odd” material to the USEC docks that would not be fit for a domestic package.
These sellers are reporting more privileged pricing for these few deals. Some of them report a price as high as $275/gt delivered for spot deals involving shredder feed heading into buyers located in Maryland and with sites on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. So, that high price, if it had to be labeled, could be considered a Pittsburgh shredder feed price.
In New England, prices to the Boston docks softened by $5/gt to $240-245/gt delivered export yard, P&S 5ft prices dropped by the same amount to $250-255/gt delivered, and shredder feed decreased by the same amount to $155-160/gt delivered. Some New England sellers also reported selling shredder feed further inland and achieving sales prices as high as $245/gt delivered. Yet exporters within the Boston region and closer to the coast are buying the grade at the aforementioned $155-160/gt delivered.
The Turkish import scrap market continues to soften as mills remain cautious with their scrap purchases amid a sluggish market for finished Turkish steel. As of last week, and as reported by SteelOrbis last week, sources in Turkey hope next month will look better for rebar sales, and are unsure if the import market has hit bottom. HMS I/II 80:20 fell by $9.5/mt weekly and currently sits at $373-375/mt CFR Turkey.
Containerized
Containerized scrap prices from USEC have also been affected by the sluggish Turkish market and a soft Asian import market. The price of HMS I/II 80:20 softened on the higher end of its price range by $5/mt and settled at $310/mt FAS New York (NY) port from $310-315/mt FAS last week, while containerized P&S 5ft prices contracted the same to $320/mt FAS and containerized shredded decreased similarly to $340/mt FAS.
