DAILY STEEL SCRAP: Turkish mills end week with six cargoes

A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a United States cargo on July 8 comprising heavy melting scrap 1&2 (90:10) at $498 per tonne, shredded and plate & structural (P&S) at $516.

A steel mill in the Izmir region also booked a cargo from the US, comprising 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $498 per tonne cfr on July 7.

In the Marmara region, a steel mill also booked a US cargo comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $496 per tonne and shredded at $514 per tonne cfr.

Another steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo comprising 15,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $500 per tonne, 9,000 tonnes of shredded at $515 per tonne and 4,000 tonnes of bonus at $515 per tonne cfr.

A third steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $496 per tonne cfr.

Meanwhile, in the Iskenderun region, another mill booked a Baltic Sea cargo at $495 per tonne cfr on an HMS 1&2 (80:20) basis.

Despite these transactions, overall demand in Turkey was still described slow because mills were booking scrap only for their immediate needs, according to the market sources.

“The Turkish steel producers book scrap only if they sell finished material. Nobody opens long positions for scrap like in the old times. They only buy when they need,” a Turkish mill source said.

“Demand for long steel products is still very weak in both the domestic and export markets. I do not expect a recovery unless Turkish steelmakers start securing some finished steel sales,” another mill source added.

Fastmarkets recorded 36 deep-sea cargoes in July 2020.

As a result of the lack of fresh transactions, the daily scrap indices remained steady on Friday.

The daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey was calculated at $493.25 per tonne, unchanged day on day.

Fastmarkets’ corresponding index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey was $500.89 per tonne, also flat day on day, leaving the premium for US material over European scrap at $7.64 per tonne.