Turkish mills return to market for imported scrap; prices fall slightly

After staying quiet for almost a week, Turkish buyers returned to market near the end of the week with a couple of cargoes getting concluded from USA and European origins at decreased prices. The weak domestic market and slow finished steel sales in Turkey, had been keeping buyers away from fresh bookings earlier this week and pulled the prices down.

• Among the latest bookings, USA suppliers re-entered the market, with an East Coast based recycler selling a 30,000t mixed grade cargo to an Aegean region-based Steelmaker, comprising of Shredded 211 scrap at $258/t and P&S grade at $263/t CFR Turkey, putting the price for HMS 1&2 (80:20) at 253/t CFR Turkey, while the shipment is expected in early August.
• Another US East Coast recycler sold a cargo to a major mill in Western Marmara, consisting of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $255/t CFR Turkey. The deal was reportedly concluded on 9^th July and is scheduled for August shipment.
• Another latest deal includes a German scrap supplier booking a cargo to an Eastern Marmara based mill, consisting of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $251/t and Bonus (P&S) grade at $261/t CFR Turkey, for August shipment.

Prior to this, SteelMint had reported that at closing of last week, a UK premium yard had sold a mixed cargo to a Turkish mill, with HMS 1&2 (80:20) price recorded at $253/t CFR Turkey, putting US origin HMS 1&2 at around $259/t CFR, while earlier last week, a US origin composite cargo was sold at an average price of $262/t, with HMS 1&2 (80:20) price being reported at $259.5/t CFR Turkey.

On normalizing the latest bookings, SteelMint’s assessment for USA origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) stands at $254/t CFR, down from $259/t at closing of last week. While European origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) assessment stands at $250/t CFR Turkey, narrowing the gap with US material to just $4.

Outlook: On the supply front, it has been reported that Baltic origin recyclers are witnessing a slow scrap inflow to their yards, thus resisting the price drop amid material shortage, however, yards in USA and Benelux regions are not facing any supply tightness, bringing down the workable price in comparison to last week.

Market participants do not expect the prices to fall sharply in the near term, and remain supported due to improving demands in most major markets, who are scaling up their steel production levels .