DAILY STEEL SCRAP: Mills step back from deep-sea bookings again, prices begin to slide

Turkish steel producers again stepped away from the deep-sea scrap market after a downturn in steel billet and finished steel prices, triggered by falling prices in China, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 27.

May 27, 2021

By Cem Turken

Mills had only just returned to the market on Wednesday, when a Turkish steelmaker booked f 44,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (95:5) from the United States at $515 per tonne cfr.

That contributed to a $10-per-tonne decline in Fastmarkets’ daily scrap indices.

Steel billet prices in China have corrected down over the past week, which consequently brought a decline in Turkish scrap import prices, as Turkey’s billet and finished long steel prices were recently supported by the demand in Asia.

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel billet, import, cfr China, was $700-720 per tonne on May 21, down from $770-800 per tonne a week earlier.

Due to the lack of fresh trading activity, the daily scrap indices remained steady on Thursday May 27.

Fastmarkets’ daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey, was calculated at $503.64 per tonne on Thursday, static day on day.

And the corresponding daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey, was also unchanged at $508.22 per tonne on May 27, leaving the premium for US material over European scrap at $4.58 per tonne on May 27.