It is observed that buyers in the local US finished steel market have exerted pressure on prices after the US decided to cut the duty on steel imports from Turkey and cancel the Section 232 tariffs on steel imports from Canada and Mexico. As a result, US steelmakers have reduced their scrap purchase prices by $30/mt. Since scrap collection activities are much easier to carry out during the summer, oversupply exists in the US scrap market but sellers have focused on their export markets, cutting their export quotations instead of lowering their domestic scrap prices.
It is also seen that Turkish mills have started scrap purchases for July after the end-of-Ramadan holiday, and a Turkish mill has concluded a deep sea scrap booking for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $284/mt CFR, showing a $8/mt fall in price for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap since the previous deal concluded at $302/mt CFR Turkey in May. In the current week, Turkish mills have focused on deep sea transactions, concluding many, as they did not want to miss out on the attractive prices.
Meanwhile, HMS I/II 80: 20 scrap in the most recent ex-Baltic deal was at $285.5/mt CFR Turkey, indicating a decline in short sea scrap prices in Turkey. Additionally, SteelOrbis has been informed that short sea HMS I/II 80:20 scrap offers to Turkey have decreased to the range of $270-272/mt CFR today, June 18.
It is also heard that Turkish mills have cut their production rates due to the ongoing weakness of finished steel demand in their domestic and export markets, and so they are targeting levels lower than $280/mt CFR for their scrap bookings.
On the other hand, buyers in the international finished steel markets are waiting for prices to soften given the lower levels of scrap quotations. Accordingly, Turkish mills have reduced their finished steel export prices slightly in the current week to attract demand. Under the current circumstances, market sources state that Turkish mills’ may focus on short sea scrap offers in order to maintain their scrap purchase prices at lower levels, but they also state that it should not be forgotten that this downward trend of scrap prices could come to an end depending on Turkish mills, who are due to start their purchases for July in the short term.