While Turkish mills have managed to cut their deep sea scrap purchase prices slightly over the past week, new ex-US deals have been disclosed to the market since yesterday, May 16.
While an Iskenderun-based producer has concluded an ex-US deal for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $382.5/mt CFR and shredded scrap at $402.5/mt CFR, another ex-US deal done by a Marmara-based producer was closed yesterday for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $380/mt CFR and shredded and bonus grade scrap at $400/mt CFR. As a result, US-based suppliers’ actual prices to Turkey are in the range of $380-383/mt CFR.
As SteelOrbis mentioned yesterday, sellers are still confident that there is room for an increase next week, citing Turkey’s need for deep sea cargoes. Some market sources mention possible production cuts in Turkey, but there have been no official announcements by mills, only rumors. Turkey’s long steel market remains sluggish and this situation remains the main reason why no one expects a surge in scrap prices. Considering the unchanged collection prices in the EU, a further price decline is unlikely. However, the first indications coming out of the US for the June-buy-cycle signal a soft sideways trend, but it is still too early to affirm definite expectations for the US.