Posted on 04 Jun 2024
The US domestic scrap market is preparing for price declines across all grades as it gears up for June settlement, notes Kallanish.
Mills are reported to have cancelled purchases on Friday that were not delivered by the end of May, in order to achieve lower prices in June. This was mostly the result of the continuing gradual slide in US domestic sheet values.
Market sentiment, which deteriorated towards the end of last month, remained weak on the first day of June as scrap sellers waited anxiously to see at what prices producers would enter the market. Although some suppliers expect values to find support from firm pig iron prices, the general expectation is for a $15-30/gross ton decline from May values for all grades throughout the country.
For US West Coast business, Taiwanese domestic scrap declined by TWD 300/tonne ($9.25) on Monday, while US-origin containerised HMS 1&2 80:20 quotes remained stable at $348-350/t cfr Taiwan. As Taiwanese buyers have enough inventories, demand is not expected to be significant in off-peak season.
On the East Coast, although US scrap suppliers sought higher levels in Turkey last week, they faced buyers' resistance, ending with stabilised prices in the latest deals. Following the US deal at $380/t cfr Turkey in the second half of last week, a southern Turkish mill bought US-origin HMS 1&2 95:5 at $385/t and shredded at $399/t cfr on Friday, where HMS 1&2 80:20 corresponds to $379/t cfr.
Source:Kallanish
