WEEKLY SCRAP WRAP: Prices in Turkey, Taiwan bounce back but India slips

Turkish and Taiwanese scrap prices have risen over the past week with increasing freight and collection costs, while the prices in the Indian market have fallen due to poor market sentiment.

Turkish scrap import prices rebounded at the end of the week, as expected, with new deals heard at slightly higher prices, while the tightness of scrap supply was dragging Taiwanese prices further upward.

Turkey imports

Turkish scrap import prices bounced back on news of fresh deep-sea cargoes heard on Friday October 27.

A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a European cargo, comprising 22,500 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25), 2,500 tonnes of shredded and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at an average price of $303 per tonne cfr.

Another steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 16,000 tonnes of bonus at $315.50 per tonne cfr.

The reasons for the rise in prices were the higher collection and freight costs, according to market sources.

The Rotterdam-to-Turkey freight cost rose to $20-22 per tonne for bulk scrap cargoes, compared with $16-19 per tonne last week, while the Liverpool-to-Turkey rate rose to $19-21 per tonne from last week’s $15-18 per tonne, Metal Bulletin was told.

“I think we will soon see [a price of] $315-320 per tonne cfr [for HMS 1&2 (80:20)] because the freight [rates] are rising sharply,” a Turkish mill source said.

“Besides, there are only a few cargoes with shredded and [plate & structural scrap (P&S)] available and some suppliers have managed to sell at least seven or eight cargoes to other destinations, while the Turks were not accepting the [price] offers,” he added. “Scrap collection costs are also rising in the US domestic market.”

There were two other deals heard earlier this week.

A steel producer in the Izmir region booked a European cargo, comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $295 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of shredded at $300 per tonne cfr.

Another steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo, comprising 14,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $304 per tonne, 22,000 tonnes of shredded at $309 per tonne and 4,000 tonnes of P&S at $314 per tonne cfr.

US exports
US ferrous scrap export prices remained unchanged on October 26 on a new bulk deal transacted from the country’s Gulf Coast to Turkey.

This cargo was the tenth bulk purchase Turkish steelmakers had made from the US in October.

Taiwan imports
Taiwan’s prices for imports of containerized HMS-grade ferrous scrap have risen this week on tighter supply in the spot market.

Sources said that there were fewer spot cargoes because traders withheld offers in the face of bullish sentiment. Demand remained stable from electric arc furnace operators in the territory.

Cargoes were being offered at $285-290 per tonne cfr Taiwan, and negotiations were taking place at $280-290 per tonne cfr Taiwan.

A buyer source said that he had bought a cargo at just below $285 per tonne cfr Taiwan and would continue to bid at that levels. Other market sources said that there were deals done at $280-285 per tonne cfr.

An uptick in Turkish ferrous scrap import prices had boosted sentiment, encouraging key buyers to raise their bids by as much as $5 per tonne.

“Prices had been a little low previously and are now climbing gradually out of the trough. There are some signs of tight supply in the containerized import scrap market this week,” a source at a Taiwanese steel mill said.

India imports
Prices for shredded scrap imported into India fell this week amid poor market sentiment.

“We were thinking that, after [the religious festival of] Diwali, the markets would go up, but the market is weakening,” one trader said.

“India is lagging behind [prices in] the international market by $20-25 per tonne, so it’s a very bad time for the scrap business again,” one seller said.

Due to low sales of Indian finished goods, certain mills are cutting production, and therefore their scrap buying, he added.

Most shredded offer prices were heard in the range of $315-325 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva, with one deal closed at $315 per tonne cfr for 1,500 tonnes.

“There are more inquiries in the [HMS-grade scrap] market, but billet markets are falling,” one trader said.

“Many deals are getting stuck over a [small] number of dollars,” he added.

West Africa-origin material was heard transacted at $275-277 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva, with offers for similar material at $285 per tonne cfr.

South African material was heard sold at $285 per tonne cfr, while UK-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was heard sold at $275-282 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva.

Offers for UK-origin material were heard at $295-300 per tonne cfr.

Turkey domestic
Turkish domestic ship scrap prices inched up on stronger demand, while domestic auto bundle scrap prices remained stable at the beginning of the week.

Metal Bulletin’s weekly price assessment for melting scrap from shipbreaking in the Turkish domestic market was $305 per tonne delivered on October 23, up from the $300-301 per tonne in the previous week.

All four steel producers in the Izmir region were buying domestic ship scrap at $305 per tonne delivered.

Meanwhile, domestic auto bundle scrap prices remained stable over the week, as only a few mills changed their buy prices.


Paul Lim in Singapore, Mei Ling Toh in New York and Lee Allen in London contributed to this report.