It is observed that, having moved up last week after indicating a bearish trend during most of April, import scrap prices in Turkey are once again under pressure in the current week. Following the import scrap transactions concluded in the range of $305-308/mt CFR in the first half of April, import HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices increased to $312.5/mt CFR last week, with some offers even exceeding $315/mt CFR. Since many steel mills have adopted a wait-and-see stance after the deals concluded last week, scrap suppliers have slightly reduced their offers. Import HMS I/II 80:20 scrap offers are at present generally observed to be in the range of $310-315/mt CFR, but Turkish mills prefer to stay below $310/mt CFR, while scrap suppliers are unwilling to reduce their prices below this price level for now. A Turkish steelmaker has given a firm bid at $305/mt CFR for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap, while another producer has offered $308/mt CFR for the same grade, though no deals have resulted from these firm bids.
Meanwhile, some Turkish steel mills have postponed their deep sea scrap purchases, instead focusing on and concluding deals for short sea scrap. While a deal for Romanian A3 grade scrap was concluded at $296/mt CFR Marmara, a booking for Russian HMS I/II 90:10 scrap was made at $306/mt CFR Marmara.
Turkish steel mills, which are facing weak demand for their finished steel products in general, are seeking to attract a share of the demand for rebar seen in the Far East. Strong competition exists between rebar suppliers in the Far East region, while Ukrainian and Turkish suppliers’ rebar offers to the region are at $495/mt CFR LO and $500/mt CFR LO, respectively. These offers are on actual weight basis and for June-July shipments.
It is believed that the continuity of Turkish mills’ rebar sales to the Far East will play a particularly important role in their scrap purchases since Turkish steelmakers’ capacity utilization rates have decreased below 50 percent. It is thought that HMS I/II 80:20 scrap bookings in the range of $305-310/mt CFR Turkey may be heard in the current week.