DAILY STEEL SCRAP: Mills push for lower deep-sea prices

At least three deep-sea cargoes were booked on Friday April 16.

The most recent was heard after the indices closed on Monday April 19.

A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a European cargo at $416 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20). The cargo breakdown, however, was not clear at the time of publication.

A deal for a European cargo of the same material was done at $417 per tonne cfr on.

As a result of the latest European transaction, the daily scrap indices inched down on Tuesday April 20.

Fastmarkets’ daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey was calculated at $416.25 per tonne on April 20, down by $0.75 per tonne day on day.

And the daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey was $422.22 per tonne on Tuesday, also down by $0.75 per tonne day on day, leaving the premium for US material over European scrap at $5.97 per tonne.

Turkish steelmakers were pushing for $415-420 per tonne for HMS 1&2 (80:20) but Baltic Sea suppliers were still offering material at $425 per tonne or higher on Tuesday, while the US scrap was on offer at $430 per tonne cfr.

“It seems the prices will remain firm on the supplier side, but the buyers are not accepting the current offers, [which are] $5-10 per tonne higher than the previous bookings,” said a trading source.

In the meantime, offers for short-sea A3-grade scrap were around $405 per tonne cfr from the Black Sea.