Turkey: Imported Scrap Prices Move Up In Latest Bookings

Imported scrap prices to Turkey have unexpectedly rebounded by more than USD 10/MT in fresh deep-sea cargo bookings concluded over the last 2-3 days. A flurry of bookings were witnessed since the middle of this week at successively increasing prices, as many mills looked to restock their June shipment stock, at a time when global supply still remains tight.

-- Among the latest deals confirmed, a global supplier from its Baltic origin yard, sold a mixed cargo to a major mill in Western Marmara on 7th May, comprising of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at USD 252/MT CFR and bonus (P&S) at USD 262/MT CFR Turkey. The price is higher by around USD 12/MT in comparison to last week bookings.

--One day before this, the same steelmaker from Western Marmara booked a composite cargo from a UK based prominent recycler, comprising of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at USD 245/MT, Shredded at USD 250/MT and bonus at USD 255/MT CFR Turkey. Both these bookings are expected for June shipment.

As per trade sources, some other bookings that were signed around the middle of this week include:

. The same UK recycler sold few other cargoes with HMS 1&2 (80:20) at USD 242/MT CFR Turkey (Iskenderun port) to 3 other steelmakers based in Aegean and Mediterranean region.

. An eastern-Black-sea based mill buying a mixed cargo from Canadian scrap recycler at an average price of USD 255/MT CFR Turkey

. A Netherlands based recycler sold a cargo to a Mediterranean region based steelmaker consisting of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at USD 241.5 and P&S at USD 251.5/MT CFR Turkey

Last week, UK based recyclers had sold few cargoes with HMS 1&2 (80:20) at USD 237-238/MT CFR Turkey, while at the same time, Baltic origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) cargoes were sold at around USD 241/MT CFR.

After normalizing the latest bookings this week, SteelMint's current assessment for USA origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) stands at USD 253-254/MT CFR, up by USD 11-12/MT against closing of last week. European origin assessment stands at USD 246-248/MT CFR Turkey.

The market is expecting that, since the demand is expected to be average, while the scrap availability also is likely to be on the lower side, hence the prices are anticipated to keep fluctuating between these levels (+/- USD 10 MT) and no sharp rise or fall in the near term is being expected.