Turkiye: Imported scrap trade slows down, suppliers keep offers high

The Turkish imported scrap market was mostly silent this week after witnessing a sharp hike in prices. Sentiments are optimistic, but the Eid holidays may keep market activities slow. Negotiations were slow in the market as suppliers were not in a hurry to quote firm offers.

Information reveals that European and UK deals were concluded at significantly higher levels in the market last weekend. Negotiations are underway as there is great demand from Turkish steelmakers.

• A steel mill from the Iskenderun region booked mixed cargo of 30,000 t of HMS 1&2 (80:20) and 10,000 t of shredded material from a Benelux scrap supplier at an average price of $370/t CFR. The shipment of the cargo is scheduled for early August.
• Another deal was concluded, in which a Marmara-based mill bought 18,000 t of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $361/t CFR and 2,000 t of bonus material at $381/t CFR from the Netherlands.

A Benelux-origin cargo of HMS 1&2 (80:20) was heard at $394/t CFR, while another Baltic-origin deal was heard booked at $390/t CFR Marmara. However, the deals remained unconfirmed till the time of publishing this report.

SteelMint’s price assessment for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) is at $395/t CFR, registering a sharp hike of over $40-45/t w-o-w.

Furthermore, Turkish steel producers keep increasing their finished steel prices, considering better demand, which could provoke a further upward trend in scrap.

Ferrous scrap imports up 5% m-o-m in May’22: Turkiye’s ferrous scrap imports were recorded at 2.22 mnt in May 2022, a rise of 5% m-o-m compared to 2.11 mnt in April 2022, as per SteelMint data. Similarly, on a yearly basis, ferrous scrap imports grew by 13% against 1.96 mnt in May 2021. Turkiye’s imported scrap market is expected to climb up in Q3CY2022, if the pandemic or currency fluctuations do not strike back again.

Market overview

• Lira losses against dollar: Turkiye’s currency, the lira, which has been witnessing a consistent fall, now stands at 17.27 as compared to 16.06 a week ago.
• Domestic scrap offers rebound: Domestic steelmakers keep increasing their domestic scrap purchase prices amid the sharp upward moments in the imported scrap sector and improved activity in local finished steel markets. The majority of mills have announced a hike of TRY 100-400/t in their purchase prices for domestic scrap. The continued upward trend in local scrap is expected to continue on the back of the positive sentiment in domestic finished and imported scrap markets last week.
• Rebar prices rebound on back of scrap prices: At the beginning of the week, steelmakers pushed up their rebar prices significantly amid costlier raw materials and better demand. Turkiye’s long steel producer ICDAS has increased its rebar prices by $40/t, to $700/t exw-Biga and $711/t CFR Marmara.