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.

What to read next
Explore the recent EUDR country classifications and discover which nations are labeled low, standard, or high risk.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ molybdenum drummed molybdic oxide – in-whs Busan, MB-FEO-0004, and in-whs Rotterdam, MB-FEO-0003 – and ferro-molybdenum 65% Mo min, in-whs Rotterdam, MB-FEO-0001, price assessments were delayed because of slow data processing on Friday May 23. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated. The publication of these prices was delayed for 12 minutes. The […]
Fastmarkets invited feedback from the industry on the pricing methodology for PIX Packaging Europe price indices via an open consultation process between April 24 and May 22, 2025. This consultation was done as part of our published annual methodology review process.
Investors in the US corn and wheat markets amassed shorts in the week to Tuesday May 13, moving corn from a net long to a net short for the first time since October, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed late on Friday May 16.
This price assessment aims to enhance transparency in the Indonesian coke market. Fastmarkets has observed a significant volume of Indonesian coke entering the global market in recent months, establishing Indonesia as a key exporter of coke worldwide since 2023. In the first seven months of 2024, Poland, China and Indonesia were the top three coke exporters globally.  […]
Get the latest on potential port strikes in Sweden and how they could affect pulp and paper trade in the region.