Turkey’s imported prices have softened in a deal concluded recently for Baltic origin-based bulk scrap cargo. Market insiders believe that there is a scope for fresh booking for Feb’21 shipment. Most of the steel mills have adopted a wait-and-watch approach as the market has no clarity at the moment. The workable price is expected to be below $480/t whereas suppliers are targeting higher levels.
Interestingly, after a flurry of deals concluded last week, Turkish buyers remained quiet earlier in the week. This kept global suppliers under pressure and held them back from going for any price hike.
SteelMint’s assessment for USA origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) now stands at $478/t CFR Turkey registering a slight drop of $4 as compared to last week.
Recent confirmed deal- In a deal confirmed recently a West Marmara based steelmaker has booked a Baltic region-based bulk scrap cargo. The cargo comprising of HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $478. The shredded/bonus scrap was booked at $488/t CFR Turkey basis. However, the quantity was unconfirmed.
Apart from the above, few more concluded deals have been heard around $476/t levels. However, we were unable to confirm the quantity and price at the time of publishing this report.
Turkey’s market overview- The market was facing external head-winds that kept the buying slow, including the slow finished steel demand, SteelMint understands. A recent hike in Russia’s scrap export duty, which was reported by SteelMint last week, and high scrap collection rate on low scrap generation posed additional problems.
Turkey’s billet imports stood at 0.36 mn t, registering a growth of 19% m-o-m in Nov’20. Russia persisted as the highest billet supplier with 0.15 mn t in Nov’20.
Turkey’s ferrous scrap imports up by 9% in Nov’20– Turkey, the world’s largest ferrous scrap importer, witnessed a rise of 9% m-o-m to 2.01 mn t in Nov’20 as against 1.85 mn t in Oct’20. Restocking ahead of winters resulted in increased imports. In Jan-Nov’20, Turkey’s scrap import volume stood at 19.93 mn t, (up by 19% y-o-y) from 16.79 mn t. The USA accounted for a 20% share.
Outlook– Imported scrap prices may witness some correction in near term as these prices are unworkable in the current market situation.
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