By the first week of April, Turkish mills started to book several cargos of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap from US dealers at $260-262/mt CFR. So far in April, ex-US scrap transaction volumes have increased, with prices rising by $2-3/mt, and the most recent cargos have been transacted in the ranges of $262-265/mt CFR for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap, $267-268/mt CFR for shredded scrap and $270-273/mt CFR for bonus grade scrap.
The slight uptrend in prices is all related to lack of supply and this point, many are wondering if the current price points will hold or if market prices will be vulnerable to slippage once scrap yard inventories start to recover. "It's no great secret that intake has been abysmal and the yards who are sitting on higher priced inventory are holding onto it because they're not wanting to take a loss."
Current export scrap prices may be vulnerable to two things; increased inflow (as some SteelOrbis sources are indicating yards are offering slightly higher prices to collectors) and the downtrend in prices in ex-UK and ex-Baltic region bookings, in which recent prices for HMS I/II 80:20 have been in a similar range to the prices in the latest ex-US bookings. "Demand from Turkish mills will need to pick up or suppliers' scrap prices from other countries will need to hold steady, in order to keep current ex-US scrap prices," according to another SteelOrbis source. "Common sense tells you that prices will fall in line with what demand dictates, but, if prices stay high in other areas of the world, US export yards may be able to hold their line," he added.