Turkiye: Imported scrap market quiet, prices continue to fall

Turkish imported scrap market remained quiet for yet another week. Trade activities were mostly absent from the US due to the ongoing Ramadan month. Meanwhile, prices have declined from the last mid-month. Turkish domestic finished steel, billet, and scrap prices continued to weaken.

Turkish scrap importers kept postponing fresh bookings and have opted to wait and watch. Negotiations were slow in the ferrous scrap market owing to slow finished long steel demand in the domestic and overseas markets. Hence, mills are waiting for a better overview.

SteelMint's daily assessment for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from the US stood at $435-440/t CFR Turkiye, down $5/t w-o-w.

Steel mills have not bought enough cargo for May shipment and it is expected that trade may improve after Ramadan holidays, considering that trade activities may resume fully after the holidays.

On the other hand, the shortsea scrap market, continued to fall sharply as Turkish mills continued to prefer procuring domestic scrap at low prices, which was easily available after the earthquake.

The domestic market remains dull

• Domestic scrap prices down: After a prolonged silence in Turkiye's domestic scrap market, steelmakers started some discounting against their offer prices amid bearish sentiments in the finished steel market.
  
  
• Billet prices dive deep: Negative sentiments continued to dominate among Turkish billets market participants. Most of the players opted to wait and watch, and some players have already contracted their billet prices observing a downtrend in the long steel overseas market.
  
  
• Rebar prices follow the queue: Turkiye's rebar prices kept falling amid an inadequate buying interest from overseas buyers. Domestic rebar offers from steel producers were voiced within the range of $695-700/t exw, depending on the region. Offers from a major long steel producer, ICDAS, stayed unchanged since the beginning of the week at $720/t exw Biga and $735/t CFR Marmara.
  
  
• Auto sales hit record highs in March: Turkiye's automotive sector, one of the top steel-consuming sectors, continued to boost performance, beating one sales record after another. Passenger car sales increased by 50.1% to 175,421 units, while light commercial vehicle trade moved up by 71.9% to 60,550 units.