DAILY STEEL SCRAP: Mills seek market clarity before buying more scrap

The post-Ramadan religious holiday began on the afternoon of May 12.

The country was also under full lockdown between April 29 and May 16 amid a third wave of Covid-19 cases.

“People are returning from the holiday and lockdown periods. The week started in wait-and-see mode. There was a slight correction in iron ore prices in China. I think Turkish mills will want to see the market clearer before booking more scrap,” a Turkish mill source said.

Fastmarkets’ daily index for 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao dropped by $28.78 per tonne to $208.79 per tonne on Friday May 14, before climbing back to $217.77 per tonne on Monday.

“Everybody is trying to understand the market. We should see how the price movement in China will impact here,” a trading source said.

“Scrap merchants are eager to sell material as scrap prices exceed $500-per-tonne levels. But people got confused by the downturn in the Chinese iron ore prices. [Thankfully] it recovered today,” another mill source added.

As a result of the lack of fresh trading activity, the daily scrap indices remained flat at the start of the week.

Fastmarkets’ daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey was calculated at $502.25 per tonne on Monday, unchanged day on day.

The corresponding daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), United States origin, cfr Turkey was also unchanged at $506.83 per tonne on Monday, leaving the premium for US material over European scrap at $4.58 per tonne.