Local Italian scrap market still unchanged

Local scrap prices in Italy have remained stable again this week. Market participants do not expect much change in the short term and are waiting for March to see the developments in the finished steel market.

Although steel mills have been trying to reduce scrap purchase prices since the beginning of February, local Italian scrap prices remained unchanged for the second week in a row. In fact, according to several sources, trading activity has been sluggish over the past week, but steel mills have confirmed scrap prices at unchanged levels.

At the moment, market participants report a substantial balance between supply and demand and expect the picture to remain unchanged until early March. Next month, however, the situation could change, with one sources commenting, “There is not much scrap available for collection. Repair shops [which are also another source for scrap generation] are also not doing much work.” Therefore, should demand from steel mills improve in March, suppliers would then be hard-pressed to meet it, and this tension could lead to a new price increase.

Prices include delivery and exclude VAT.