Having been fairly quiet in the past week in terms of import scrap purchase activity, Turkish steelmakers have mostly preferred to conclude deals from St. Petersburg and the Baltic region, while the latest ex-Baltic HMS I/II 80:20 scrap transaction in Turkey has been concluded at $399/mt CFR. The transaction level has indicated an increase of $5-6/mt as compared to the previous booking levels and foreign suppliers' scrap offers for Turkey have remained on the strong side.
Meanwhile, this week ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap offers to Turkey's Iskenderun region stand at $413/mt CFR, but these offers have attracted no demand so far. Turkish steelmakers, who find current scrap offers to be on the high side, are adopting a wait-and-see stance at the moment and they will likely evaluate import billet offers, which are more attractive compared to scrap prices in the current period.
In the meantime, US scrap suppliers are not expected to make concessions on their prices in the short term. However, considering harsher weather conditions and low scrap inventory levels for January, Turkish mills will likely accept the higher scrap prices and will have to conclude new bookings. On the other hand, there are rumors that Turkish mills may opt to reduce their production amid low trading volumes both at home and abroad.
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