TURKEY March 16 2015 5:26 PM
ANKARA (Scrap Register): Turkish HMS 1/2 80:20 scrap import prices (CFR Iskenderun Port, Turkey) advanced further by $9 a ton week-on-week to $260 a ton during last week.
Participants view the price rise seen last week as largely a result of mills all coming to the table at once to replenish inventory, with some buyers also looking to buy multiple cargoes.
This week a sense of reality returned to the market, with Baltic merchants offering lower than their European counterparts due to their current exchange rate advantage.
Turkish producers have become increasingly reliant on ferrous scrap supplies from Europe, the Baltics and North America, despite government-sponsored attempts to boost domestic scrap generation.
Meanwhile, short-sea ferrous scrap supply from the Balkans, Russia and Ukraine has been steadily declining since the middle of the last decade, increasing Turkish producers' exposure to domestic EU and US scrap price movements.
Turkish steelmakers have expressed concern about increasing competition from regional integrated competitors which currently benefit from a comparatively lower cost of production.
This article is compiled by Vibin Antony on behalf of Scrap Register. Send in your suggestions and comments to editor@scrapregister.com)
