Ferrous scrap prices to the US East Coast (USEC) docks remained sideways this week despite increases in export prices to Turkey. USEC exporters claim that higher freight costs, caused by increased oil prices after the start of the conflict in Iran, have eroded their margins. The cost of bulk freight from USEC jumped in recent days to $44-49/mt CFR Turkey from under $40/mt last month.
In New York and Philadelphia, the price of HMS I remains at $270-280/gt delivered export yard (with some sellers reporting they are still in the $260-270/gt delivered export yard range). P&S 5ft prices to Philadelphia docks are reported at $285-305/gt delivered and shredder feed in the $250-255/gt delivered range. Sellers claim exporters are seeing a $6-8/gt margin improvement in their transactions, but are choosing to keep it and not pass it on to sub-collectors that sell to them at this time.
Boston prices to docks remained unchanged this week as well, with HMS I $250-260/gt delivered and shredder feed at $160/gt delivered. Contacts at the Houston docks reported no changes this week either.
A flurry of sales to Turkey in the past few days propped up the price of US-origin HMS I/II 80:20 scrap to $397.5/mt CFR Turkey, prompting some providers to the USEC docks to hope for higher pricing. Moreover, the region and scrap generation in particular have been negatively affected by the harsh winter weather, limiting supply.
Sentiment for the USEC and US Midwest region remains subdued, as the domestic market appears to be heading toward a $20/gt price reduction in obsolete grades and a sideways trend in prime grades. A number of order cancellations were observed at the start of this week in the US Midwest and Canada, suggesting mills may be expecting lower prices in April. A positive run in hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices, along with weekly price improvements in the US pig iron market, has bolstered expectations for prime grades. The price of pig iron has grown 4pc since March to $485/mt cfr US from $465/mt cfr.
