Limited steel scrap supply keeps import prices in Turkey high

Turkish steel producers continued to face weak demand for finished steel products in the export markets and locally

Limited supplies and relatively active alternative markets have kept prices for imported recyclable steel elevated, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 23.

A new deal for US-origin scrap at $402 per tonne cfr, made on August 22, came to light after the indices were filed on August 23, and any correction in the indices for Northern Europe- and United States-origin imported scrap was expected to be reflected during Wednesday’s pricing session.

Meanwhile, Fastmarkets’ calculation of its daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey, was calculated at $394.72 per tonne on August 23, unchanged day-on-day, but down by $5.01 per tonne from $399.73 per tonne on August 16.

The corresponding calculation of the daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey, was $389.06 per tonne on Tuesday, also unchanged day-on-day and also down by $5.01 per tonne from $394.07 per tonne one week earlier.

This left the premium for US material over European steel scrap at $5.66 per tonne on August 23.

According to Worldsteel data, Turkey cut its steel production in July by 20.7% year-on-year.

A producer source said that this trend was expected to extend into August and September because of the weak demand for finished steel.

What to read next
Fastmarkets confirms its decision to discontinue its two domestic European stainless steel base price assessments.
This strategic launch is designed to better delineate the relationship between these two competing steelmaking materials. The differentials offer the market a single reference price denoting the spread between Turkey import billet and No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap (80:20) and between Turkey import billet and shredded scrap exported from the US East Coast respectively. […]
The government of Finland was ramping-up support for its burgeoning battery materials supply chain through grants for facilities owned by Easpring Finland New Materials and Fortum Battery Recycling, the firms said on Thursday July 10.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ assessments for nickel 4x4 cathode, nickel briquette and nickel uncut cathode premiums in-whs Rotterdam was delayed on Tuesday July 16 because of a reporter error.
US copper scrap market participants are shifting from COMEX to LME pricing in response to extreme price volatility and a new 50% copper import tariff. The change is influencing discount formulas, export strategies and long-term trading dynamics across the sector.
Nickel pig iron (NPI) is a key feedstock material used for stainless steel production, and the CIF has grown to become one of the mainstream trading methods for the Chinese market. The proposed price assessment will allow Fastmarkets to bring more transparency to the Chinese NPI market. Fastmarkets has been tracking spot and DDP China […]