Turkey: Imported Scrap Prices Drop to 1-Month Low in Recent Deals

SteelMint learned from industry participants that Turkish steel mills have continued fresh deep sea cargo bookings to take advantage of low global offers. Prices have moved down further by USD 5-6/MT against that of reported in the beginning of this week.

Following weakening prices in the Turkish market, South Asian and East Asian scrap importers have turned cautious amid continued price fall. However, few participants indicated that further price correction is limited as prices have dropped to around 1 month low and may reach the bottom soon.

In recent deals reported, one of the leading US origin recyclers sold HMS 1&2 (80:20) at USD 293/MT, Shredded at USD 298/MT, CFR and Bonus scrap at USD 303/MT, CFR Turkey to the Marmara based steelmaker.

-- Another US supplier sold HMS 1&2 (80:20) at USD 292/MT and Shredded at USD 297/MT, CFR Turkey to the same steelmaker.

-- Another supplier sold a cargo comprising 2,000 MT HMS 1&2 (80:20) at USD 293/MT, 23,000 MT of Shredded at USD 298/MT and 2,000 MT P&S scrap at USD 303/MT, CFR Turkey.

-- A Izmir based steelmaker booked a cargo comprising 17,000 MT HMS 1&2 (80:20) at USD 293/MT, 12,000 MT of Shredded at USD 298/MT and 5,000 MT of Bonus at USD 303/MT, CFR.

After normalizing these deals, SteelMint’s assessment of US origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) scrap has lowered to USD 292-293/MT, CFR Turkey, down by USD 5-6/MT against the last report. In line with this, an assessment of Europe origin HMS stands at around USD 287-288/MT, CFR. A premium of US material over Northern European scrap stands at around USD 4-5/MT.

-- Earlier to these deals, an Iskenderun based steelmaker booked a Canada origin cargo, comprising 10,000 MT Shredded HMS 1&2 (95:5), 8,000 MT of rails and 12,000 MT of P&S at an average price of USD 305/MT, CFR

-- Another US cargo booked comprising 12,000 MT of HMS 1&2 (90:10), 16,000 MT of Shredded and 2,000 MT of Bonus at an average price of USD 300/MT, CFR Turkey.

Finish steel demand remains slow; prices flat - Turkish finish steel demand remains low while rebar reference export prices stand flat at USD 465-480/MT, FoB Turkey.