Ex-Europe scrap prices to Turkey have softened slightly in two new deals closed by the same buyer. The negative mood has intensified in Turkey’s import scrap market ahead of the SteelOrbis Fall 2024 Conference & 91st IREPAS Meeting to be held on September 15-17 in Paris. Market sources believe that both buyers and sellers are waiting to meet face to face at the conference in order to conclude further deals.
SteelOrbis has learned that an ex-Germany deal was done by an Izmir-based producer with HMS I/II 80:20 scrap standing at $366/mt CFR. Another booking was done by the same producer on Friday, September 6, at the same price level. As a result, SteelOrbis’ reference price for ex-EU HMS I/II 80:20 scrap has been adjusted down by $1/mt from the previous average of $367/mt CFR.
According to market sources, Turkey will need to conclude deals in the coming days for at least 12-15 deep sea cargoes for October shipment. The IREPAS event is considered to be an ideal opportunity to negotiate deals. One European scrap seller commented today, September 12, that the mood in the market is negative, but that there is no room for a price decline on their side due to their collection prices. A Belgium-based export yard has bought HMS I/II at €300/mt DAP, HMS I/II 70:30 scrap at €310/mt DAP and bonus grade at €320/mt DAP. An Amsterdam-based scrap exporter paid €297.5/mt DAP for HMS I/II, according to one source. “The depreciating euro is helping European sellers somewhat,” another source said today, adding, “The euro-dollar exchange rate moving from 1.11 to the dollar to 1.10 means extra space of approximately $3-4/mt for EU-based exporters.” European suppliers are still struggling to sustain scrap flow to their yards and are expected to try to convince buyers in face-to-face meetings during the IREPAS conference. “US-based suppliers are unwilling to cut their offers to Turkey to the range of $360-365/mt CFR despite the downward pressure exerted by buyers,” a further source commented.
Meanwhile, the most recent deals from Romania to Turkey for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap were closed in the range of $350-355/mt CFR. There are rumours of two deals closed at $357-358/mt CFR Turkey for this grade, though this information was not confirmed by the buyer or the seller by the time of publication. Furthermore, according to market sources, ex-Italy scrap bookings were closed at $360-362/mt CFR Turkey.