Turkish mills already up to 10 US ferrous scrap cargo purchases in 2023

An East Coast exporter sold a 32,000-tonne cargo to a Turkish mill comprising an 85:15 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap priced at $411 per tonne CFR and shredded and bonus-grade material priced at $430 per tonne CFR, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday January 24.

The HMS portion of the cargo, sold the day prior, is equivalent to $408 per tonne CFR on an 80:20 basis.

These prices match those of an East Coast sale to the region also concluded on Monday January 23, in which 16,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (85:15) went for $411 per tonne CFR and 12,000 tonnes of shred and 2,000 tonnes of bonus were both sold for $430 per tonne CFR.

This latest sale comprises 32,000 tonnes, bringing Turkey’s running total of US ferrous scrap imports in January — based on a minimum of 30,000 tonnes per cargo — to more than 300,000 tonnes.

US ferrous export prices from the East Coast to Turkey have dropped by $13 per tonne over the course of January on an 80:20 basis — the year kicked off with an East Coast heavy melt sale equivalent to $421 per tonne CFR for that mix of the grade and have since fallen to $408 per tonne CFR on the same basis. Prices had previously recovered by $34 per tonne following a sale priced at $387 per tonne CFR in late December.

But export sources said they were unfazed by the incremental decline in prices over the course of the month, with healthy demand expected to keep prices stable in the near term.

“We’ve seen a relatively small correction in prices over the past week or so, nothing major,” an East Coast recycling source said.

Indeed, robust export demand from Turkey for 2023 to date is spurring sentiment that February’s US domestic trade will trend sideways at least compared with January.