Just days ago, many thought US East Coast export scrap yards' attempts to push transaction prices to Turkey up to the tune of $5-$15/mt CFR would be futile at best. Revised pricing had been announced during the third week in November, but shortly thereafter, a cargo of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap was concluded at approximately $301/mt CFR, reflecting a $1/mt CFR drop from previous bookings; the most recent cargo of shredded scrap had been transacted at $306/mt CFR. Afterward, orders seemed to fall silent.
At that point, Turkish sources were reporting that due to soft rebar pricing and the nearly daily decreases in iron ore "are going to make a US scrap price increase a very hard sell."
Yet as the week progressed the situation seemed to have taken a different direction. Turkish sources are now reporting that there is a "tightness of import scrap supply" and mills, in anticipation of inclement weather conditions, are looking to make their buys in advance of disruptions of scrap inflow into US export yards. Although order activity tapered off toward the end of this week in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday, sources now believe the shift in market conditions could bode well for price firming.