Turkish mills concluded numerous imported scrap during the last weeks. Although scrap suppliers were expecting prices to exceed $500/tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 80:20, this has not materialised, mainly because of lower-than-expected demand and a large number of offers in the market.

Demand has remained below expectations because Turkish mills concluded imported scrap bookings last week but kept them confidential. As a result, their remaining requirement for August-shipment cargoes appears lower than was anticipated.

A scrap supplier who expects prices to remain within the $485-505/t cfr range, depending on origin, says less-than-expected demand will keep prices from rising, while strong EU and US domestic markets and high freight rates will prevent prices from falling.

Another supplier says: “In fact, Turkey’s scrap booking requirement for August shipment is not as high as the market expects due to the recent deep-sea bookings that have been kept confidential. On the other hand, they continue buying short-sea and domestic scrap.”

As US domestic obsolete scrap prices have not increased from June trading – instead decreasing in a few regions – US suppliers, who offered at above $500/t cfr, have now accepted prices below $500/t cfr Turkey. The latest bookings from the US appeared at $496/t cfr for HMS 80:20.