Demand for scrap metal in Turkey is declining

The demand for scrap metal from Turkish factories has decreased this week. It can be seen that factories prefer to wait a while before placing orders for imported scrap for shipment in April.

Although scrap metal suppliers have further increased their target prices this week, they do not see buying interest from Turkish mills. A scrap supplier of Baltic origin is said to have offered HMS 1&2 80:20 for $458/tonne francs, while another wants $465/tonne francs. The US supplier plans to sell the same grade at $465/t cfr for March shipment. Two European suppliers are offering material at prices above $450/t and $455/t, respectively.

A supplier tells Callanish: “Today, no plant pays such amounts. I find an acceptable price for the premium HMS 1&2 80:20 at $450-455/t cfr today, not higher.”

Another supplier says: “Buyers are resisting price increases. Some seek to delay purchases and hunt for a panicked seller who will agree to sell at a lower price. However, dock prices have reached €380/t [$404] in the EU, while the US market is poised to raise prices by $40/t gross. I am afraid that Turkish factories will face higher prices when they return to the market.”

Due to the slowdown in demand for scrap metal from Turkish factories, the market is debating whether prices have peaked. However, most scrap suppliers believe that prices will rise even more due to supply issues in the regions that supply scrap.

The latest deal was for $450/ton from the Baltic, $445/ton from the EU and $445/ton from Turkey from the UK for HMS 1&2 80:20 late last week (see Kallanish passim ) .

Coaster suppliers also raised their price targets today. Some of them are offered at prices above $445 per ton. On Monday, the Turkish plant bought scrap metal for coastal navigation at a price of $440 per ton.

In the rebar market, supply rose to $765-785/t ex-works on Tuesday. It can be seen that the southern plant offers even $795/ton. Demand, however, remained weak on Tuesday as buyers are generally cautious about these levels. It can be seen that some plants limit their sales to small volumes, while some have closed sales to sellers.

On the export side, the western mill sold a 4,500 ton cargo of rebar and wire rod at $750/tonne and $770/tonne fob in actual weight, respectively, by the end of last week. Rebar sales in Yemen were at about the same level. However, these prices are far from acceptable for buyers in other regions.

Meanwhile, Turkish state gas distributor Botas further cut natural gas prices for industrial use by 20.95-26.12% from March, after falling 13.3-17.22% in February.