STEEL SCRAP WRAP: Turkey returns to market as global markets pick up again

The key global scrap markets improved in terms of both sentiment and prices in the week to Friday August 28, after Turkey resumed its deep-sea cargo purchases following a three-week hiatus.

  • Turkey continues to book deep-sea cargoes
  • US sees liquid activity in spot export market
  • Vietnamese buyers remain keen on bulk cargoes from US West Coast
  • Taiwanese buyers see slowdown in price upswing
  • India sentiment switches after Turkey returns to market.

Turkey
Turkish steel mills continued to book deep sea cargoes this week for late-September and October shipments, with at least six cargoes being bought from the Baltic Sea, Europe and the United States.

Steady demand for scrap in the US and recovering steel demand in Turkey have supported scrap import prices, which inched up despite market expectations that the weak Turkish lira would cause prices to fall.

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
Export markets on both coasts were active, with Turkey booking two cargoes from the East Coast and Bangladesh booking two cargoes from the West Coast.

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
Interest in deep-sea bulk cargoes from Australia and the US West Coast remained due to the high offers from Japanese scrapyards, with buyers snapping up cargoes after a buying hiatus.

Pricing history
steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), cfr Vietnam.

Taiwan
Taiwanese steel mills continued to purchase imported containerized materials at higher prices, although some sources felt that price increases would not be as sharp in the near term as they have been recently.

Pricing history
steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US material import, cfr main port Taiwan.

India
Prices on the Indian scrap market remained firm this week after a U-turn in sentiment following Turkey’s return to the deep-sea markets, which stalled a move toward softer pricing.

Pricing history
steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India.