Posted on 29 Nov 2023
Turkey’s scrap market has had a firm start to the week, with prices rising on two fresh bookings from the EU.
On Tuesday, a southern Turkish mill is heard to have bought EU-origin HMS 1&2 80:20 at $388/tonne cfr Turkey for prompt shipment. Another booking from the Netherlands is confirmed to have been concluded on Monday by a Marmara mill at $386/t cfr for the same grade, again for December shipment.
These bookings indicate that scrap prices in Turkey continue to strengthen, as deals were concluded at $385/t cfr from the same region last week.
There were some mills inquiring about scrap on Tuesday, while some were trying to gauge suppliers’ availability and position. However, market participants expect activity to strengthen soon, as Turkish mills’ requirement for January-shipment purchases is not yet fully fulfilled and December is a short month due to holidays.
Scrap suppliers are seen remaining firm with their price targets. Although there are no offers being circulated in the market amid Turkish buyers’ absence, US and European suppliers’ price ideas are at above $395/t and $390/t cfr respectively for HMS 1&2 80:20. Domestic prices in both regions remain strong ahead of December trading.
In the Benelux, although some exporters were quoting dock delivered purchasing prices at €310/t ($341) on Monday, almost all suppliers were forced to increase to €315/t delivered on Tuesday as the flow was subdued at €310/t. On the other hand, high freight rates, at around $26/t, to Turkey and the strong euro per dollar are preventing a possible softening in European scrap prices.
In the US, the market is preparing for higher scrap prices during December trading, as values are likely to find support from rising hot rolled coil prices.
In the current conditions, prices are showing no signs of softening in the near term.
A supplier tells Kallanish: “I am expecting prices to remain firm in the near term. Looking at the historical trend, I think we may see some downward correction towards end-January, the earliest.” She adds her price indications are at $388-391/t from the EU, at $392-393/t from the Baltic and $393-395/t cfr from the US for HMS 1&2 80:20.
Although Turkish mills’ rebar sales are not yet at satisfactory levels, some sales have been concluded to Yemen, Israel, Ethiopia and the Balkans recently at $580-585/t fob Turkey actual weight. In the domestic market, livelier demand on Monday slowed on Tuesday, providing no consistency. Mills’ domestic prices were mostly unchanged at $580-600/t ex-works.
Source:Kallanish
