In Turkey, the price of imports of scrap metal rises

The decrease in the supply of ferrous scrap in the market has led to an increase in prices for these materials imported to Turkey. Scrap prices are expected to continue to rise further in anticipation of tougher weather conditions in Europe, the US and the Baltic region, which will not cause shipping difficulties in the near term.

"The stock is not being kept at the required level," said one of the European suppliers. He also attributed the shortage to the weakening of some currencies against the US dollar. "Scrap metal is not a product and it is difficult to meet the volume target in a weak currency," he added.

A US supplier recently sold 16,000 tonnes of scrap metal to an electric arc furnace steelmaker at an average cost of $ 330 per tonne. Most of the latter shipments were booked at short notice, showing an appetite for fast delivery, which is a strong factor in the current market.

However, one Turkish producer said he saw no particular reason to pay a high price, as he believes that the material will continue to be sent to ports in a few weeks, when the main suppliers will return to their previous volumes, offering a better price.

Sales in the export market for finished goods remain weak, and warehouses of some factories are overflowing with rebar and semi-finished products. Asking prices for rebar also rose in line with the increase in scrap prices, but purchases did not materialize at these higher price levels. At the same time, shipments of scrap metal for transportation in January and arrival in February were confirmed at the current price level.