Following the SteelOrbis Fall 2024 Conference & 91st IREPAS Meeting held on September 15-17 in Paris, Turkish mills’ deep sea scrap purchases have continued to surface with prices moving down slightly. “This was expected considering the bleak mood observed during the conference,” a seller commented, adding, “However, this may be a short-lived period as finished steel demand in Turkey is recovering.”
A Marmara-based producer has concluded an ex-Germany deal with the HMS I/II 80:20 scrap price standing at $364.75/mt CFR. An ex-Netherlands booking by another Marmara-based mill was closed at $361/mt CFR, according to market sources. The same buyer is rumoured to have bought an ex-Belgium cargo, indicating $360/mt CFR for the benchmark HMS I/II 80:20 scrap. A fourth cargo bought from the UK is to be sent to Iskenderun, with the HMS I/II 80:20 scrap price standing at $363/mt CFR. The chronology of the deals is not clear yet, and so SteelOrbis is revising its ex-Europe scrap prices to $360-364.75/mt CFR for the time being, reducing them by $3.62/mt.
Additionally, the same Iskenderun-based producer is reported to have concluded a deal from Denmark during the conference, with HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $366/mt CFR. As a result, SteelOrbis has cut ex-Baltic price by $1.50/mt.
Lastly, an ex-US scrap booking is reportedly done by a Marmara-based producer with the HMS I/II 80:20 scrap standing at $367/mt CFR. This information was not confirmed by the time of publication, but considering the drop observed on other supplier regions, SteelOrbis will revise its ex-US scrap prices to $367/mt CFR.
Meanwhile, sources in the EU region report that collection prices at export yards have been reduced by €5-10/mt. “Exporters pay €290/mt DAP maximum for local purchases,” a German-based sub-collector said today, September 20. A source reported that US-based suppliers are taking a breather, while a Canadian cargo has been offered to Turkey, with the HMS I/II 95:5 scrap price reported at $378/mt CFR. “This may exert pressure on ex-US cargoes despite US-based sellers’ resistance,” a seller said. Following the rebound observed on the finished steel side, several Turkish mills started to show interest in deep sea scrap offers. While deep sea scrap prices in Turkey have declined over the past week, several market sources point to the recovering rebar demand in the country. “Kardemir sold approximately 41,000-45,000 mt of rebar at $600/mt ex-works in less than an hour. Demand received by mills from rebar traders and from construction sites is good. Domestic rebar prices are moving up. Buyers are still showing interest as some dimensions are hard to find. This may be reflected in scrap prices in the coming week,” a European scrap seller said today. In the Turkish domestic rebar market, mills’ local rebar prices are at around $590-610/mt ex-works, after Turkey’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged. Another market player said there is also demand from abroad for Turkish rebar. “While it may be temporary, there is demand from Romania, Albania, Bulgaria and Lithuania,” the trader reported. Currently, ex-Turkey rebar prices still vary at $580-590/mt FOB for October-early November shipments, unchanged over the past week. Billet buyers in the Turkish market have been actively checking the most recent offers more, aiming to evaluate the market situation following the holiday in China. In the meantime, while various ex-Asia billet price indications have been floating around though mostly with long lead times, there has been active discussion of a sizeable import billet purchase from Russia at a quite low price level.