STEEL SCRAP WRAP: Prices soar to record highs amid short supplies

Steel scrap prices have risen again across all major consumer markets over the past week, driven by solid demand and constrained supplies.

  • Turkish import scrap prices hit an eight-year high after new bookings confirmed
  • Recent US export scrap sales shrouded in secrecy
  • Vietnamese scrap prices buoyed by strong Japan market
  • Taiwanese import market hits historical high
  • India prices jump on difficult market conditions 

Turkey
Prices for steel scrap imported to Turkey hit an eight-year high over the past week after a raft of new deals were heard in the market.

Market participants told Fastmarkets this week that Turkish steel mills were accepting the sharp price rises because they can reflect the increase in their sales prices for rebar and wire rod.

“I heard a steel mill in the Izmir region recently sold some 44,000 tonnes of rebar to Peru at $610 per tonne fob. Now it is offering to Peru again [but] at around $635 per tonne fob. The market is increasing every other day,” a Turkish steelmaker source said on Wednesday December 16.

Pricing history
steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), Northern Europe origin, cfr Turkey.
steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20), US origin, cfr Turkey.

United States
Despite the sharp rise in Turkish import prices, export deals from the US East Coast have been closely guarded secrets in recent weeks. One export source said that sales were being conducted, but the destinations and prices were protected by confidentiality agreements to prevent export dock prices from overheating.

Pricing history
steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20), export index, fob New York.
steel scrap shredded scrap, export index, fob New York.
steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), export index, fob Los Angeles.

Vietnam
Surging scrap and steel markets around the world are providing considerable support to ferrous scrap import prices in Vietnam, with new deals from Japan heard at higher prices.

Pricing history
steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), cfr Vietnam.

Taiwan
The spot import price for containerized ferrous scrap from the US into Taiwan reached a new historical high on Friday amid continued strong demand from steel mills and limited supply.

Pricing history
steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US material import, cfr main port Taiwan.
 

India
In India, ferrous scrap prices jumped by almost $30 per tonne in still-challenging market conditions.

Pricing history
steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India.

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