Posted on 25 Jul 2024
Turkish mills have kept their domestic scrap buying prices unchanged since last week amid a degree of lira stability versus other currencies not seen for many years, Kallanish notes.
Meanwhile, imported scrap values have also remained stable for a record-long period, with market forces finely balanced and leaving little room for movement up or down.
There were rumours of three deep-sea bookings in the market on Wednesday. However, none of them were confirmed before deadline. These were a US-origin HMS 1&2 80:20 deal at $389.5/tonne cfr Turkey, Denmark-origin HMS 1&2 80:20 at $392/t cfr and UK-origin HMS 1&2 80:20 at $388/t cfr.
Turkish mills' price targets for US and Denmark-origin cargoes are seen at below $390/t cfr. One long steel producer even expressed its target at $385/t cfr.
A mill says: “There is no need to commit to a large scrap cargo when the Chinese market is struggling and there are attractive billet offers. Scrap suppliers are now targeting to sell at above $390/t cfr but will eventually have to decrease their prices. There are no bright days ahead."
European suppliers, struggling with high dock values and weak inflow, are seen aiming to sell at above $385/t cfr. However, Turkish mills, referring to the latest European sale at $383/t cfr, will not accept this level. "Besides, the euro weakened to $1.085 on Wednesday from last week's $1.094," says another long steel mill.
Besides insufficient exports, meanwhile, rebar demand in Turkey's domestic market remained weak on Wednesday. Mills' official offers stood at $590-610/t ex-works.
Turkish shipbreaking scrap prices stood at $375-390/t delivered on Wednesday, up $5/t from the high end of last week's range. The Turkish currency stood at 32.87/dollar by Wednesday business close.
Source:Kallanish
