STEEL SCRAP WRAP: Turkish prices boosted by billet demand in Asia

• Turkish scrap import prices jump $22 per tonne at the end of the week
• US scrap export prices remain fairly stable
• Slight improvement in Vietnamese scrap import prices
• Demand for imported heavy scrap still weak in China, with buyers preparing for a five-day break
• Taiwan shows slight downturn in prices amid lower operating rates
• Indian scrap prices rise on continued trading.

Turkey
The Turkish steel mills speeded up their deep-sea scrap purchases amid strengthening demand from Asia for Turkish steel, which came after the Chinese government’s decision to cancel its export tax rebate on some steel products.

Turkish steel mills booked at least five deep-sea cargoes on Thursday-Friday April 29-30 at increasing prices. The most recent bookings raised the daily scrap indices by almost $22 per tonne at the end of the week.

With the latest five cargoes, Turkish bookings totalled nine deep-sea cargoes over the week.

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
Only one deep-sea cargo was heard sold out of the US East Coast this week, while export activity on the West Coast remained subdued.

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
Import prices for ferrous scrap in Vietnam inched up amid high offers from Japan, but demand was limited due to the upcoming holidays in both Vietnam and Japan.

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

China
Chinese import steel scrap prices were stable ahead of the Labor Day holiday on May 1-5, when business activity was expected to be at a minimum.

Pricing history
steel scrap, heavy scrap, domestic, delivered mill China.

Taiwan
Containerized ferrous scrap import prices in the Taiwanese market eased because of lower demand from steel mills, which are either reducing their operating rates or planning to do so during the summer, due to high electricity costs.

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

India
Prices for shredded steel scrap into India moved up despite continuing concerns created by the massive increase in Covid-19 case numbers.

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