World scrap prices stabilized at $395-397/t

Prices for HMS 1/2 scrap on the Turkish market for the week of August 15-22 remained unchanged compared to the previous week – at $395-397/t. Thus, scrap quotations stabilized after a two-week increase. Kallanish price indicator informs about it.

Scrap quotations on the Turkish market remain unchanged against the background of low supply and lack of steel plants’ activity. Steel producers are in no hurry to order metal scrap, as the demand for finished products is very low. Some market participants predict that in the near future the prices will decrease back to $380/ton.

At the same time, the limited supply of scrap can become a driver of price growth in the future.

Europe is still have problems with the scrap gathering due to abnormal heat and shallowing of rivers. Suppliers from the EU said that the acceptable level of prices for them is now in the range of $398-400/t, noting, at the same time, a stable and alternative to the Turkish market demand in South Asia.

The sale of scrap metal to alternative markets helped exporters not to react to the situation in Turkey and to keep the price stable. India has started booking quite large batches of scrap from the USA and Europe.

Turkey has almost completely lost its competitiveness in regional steel markets, and rising energy tariffs are further depressing the situation. Now the mills are ready to buy scrap for no more than $350/t in order to have at least some chance of getting a margin. In the event of an increase in demand for scrap metals in other regions, Turkish enterprises will take a wait-and-see position.

As GMK Center reported earlier, HMS 1/2 scrap prices on the Turkish market for the week of August 8-15 increased by $7/t compared to the previous week, to $395-397/t. Thus, scrap prices rose for the second week in a row after a three-week decline.