Local Italian scrap market silent, prices unchanged

The situation in the Italian scrap market has remained unchanged over the past week, both in terms of prices and demand. Even though steel mills plan to stop or slow down production due to the shortage of orders for finished products, no decreases are expected for scrap prices in April.

This week everything has remained unchanged in the local Italian scrap market as most mills have confirmed their purchase prices and suppliers describe a “flat calm” situation where new orders are scarce.

As anticipated last week, April will be a short month for the scrap market, and steel mills will take advantage of the April 25 holiday to stop or slow down production to cope with weak demand for finished products. However, market participants do not expect any downturns as scrap supply continues to be tight. “We are struggling to break out of this stalemate and it will continue until the finished products market recovers,” commented one source contacted by SteelOrbis. Another market participant expressed confidence that scrap prices will not fall, adding that a rebound is more likely if demand for the raw material from steel mills improves.

Prices include delivery and exclude VAT.

The Spanish scrap market has also remained stable over the past week and market participants do not expect any major changes for April.

Prices include delivery and exclude VAT.