Turkey: Imported scrap prices inch down in recent deals

Imported scrap prices into Turkey have inched down in recent deals concluded for Dec'21 shipments. Meanwhile, buyers continued to resist making bookings at hiked prices. This price hike resistance and absence of most Turkish buyers in the imported scrap market helped other remaining buyers to resume their booking at favorable prices.

Turkish buyers need to book around 10-15 more cargoes for Dec'21 shipments. However, they do not seem to be in a hurry to book fresh slots. Instead, they opted to wait in hope of a price correction, SteelMint understands.

SteelMint's assessment for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) currently stands at $499/t CFR Turkey, slightly down by $3/t w-o-w.

Recent deals:

• Around 20,000 t of Russian-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was booked at $497/t CFR, while 10,000 t of bonus booked at $517/t CFR. The cargo was booked for the Dec shipments.
  
  
• A Baltic-origin cargo containing 8,000-10,000 t of HMS 1&2 (80:20) was booked at $500/t CFR and 20,000 t of shredded at $520/t CFR.
  
  

Market highlights

• Lira hit the lowest: With the recent inflation data from the US, Turkish lira has hit the lowest point in its history. Due to the monetary policy of the Central Bank, the depreciation of the lira has gained pace over the past two months. Turkish Lira (TRY) has seen further depreciation, and its exchange rate against the dollar surpassed 9.95 TRY today, on November 11.
  
  
• Turkish rebar prices firm: Turkish steelmakers kept their export and domestic rebar prices relatively stable early in the month amid high production costs and a rebound in imported scrap prices. The export offers for rebar from Turkey were broadly unchanged over the week within $740-745/t FOB.
  
  
• Turkey's scrap imports drop 21% m-o-m in Sep'21: Turkey, recorded scrap imports of 1.54 million tonnes (mn t) in Sept'21, a decrease of 21% against 1.96 mn t in Aug'21, as per SteelMint data. However, imports dropped by 28% y-o-y from 2.14 mn t in Sept'20. The US stood as the top exporter of ferrous scrap to Turkey with 0.52 mn t in Sept'21 as against 0.28 mn t in Aug'21, a notable increase of 86% m-o-m.
  
  

Outlook
Imported scrap trade is likely to happen actively in the coming days, owing to limited activities observed last week on expectation of a price correction, SteelMint understands.