TURKEY June 09 2017 12:34 PM

ANKARA (Scrap Register): Prices for imported HMS 80:20 scrap into Turkey remained tightly range bound for May, between $267 a ton and $275 a ton, with the latter half of the month seeing prices remain nearly flat. 

The start of May saw significant volumes of material move into Turkey, but this slowed towards the end of the month as the market prepared for Ramadan.

Prices for imported HMS 80:20 1&2 scrap remained fairly flat for much of May, despite significant volumes of material being moved into Turkey. Prices stayed between $267/ton and $275/t for the month.

Following an explosive start to the month, which saw over 300,000 mt traded in the first three days of May, the month turned out to be largely uneventful, with prices remaining nearly flat, and a steady volume of material finding its way into Turkey.

With Ramadan beginning, the backend of May was quiet, with prices fixed around $272/t give or take a dollar. Ramadan is historically a quiet month for the scrap market, TSI’s historical data shows that prices often slip over the month of Ramadan, as the month precedes the quiet summer period. Sources have however indicated a belief that prices should hold up over the month, citing good domestic demand as the primary reason.

Ramadan coupled with continuing weak export demand for finished products, has resulted in market participants not expecting any significant rise in scrap prices in the near future.

Both buyers and sellers seemed content with pricing levels over the month, with mills being able to still make good margins with rebar pricing at nearly $160/t over 80:20 grade scrap and sellers happy to still be moving material out of the yards.

A weakening US dollar has added a further helping hand to the Turkish mills, but the Euro also strengthened notably against the Turkish lira, which added EUR5-10/t to cargoes in the middle of May. Despite this, only a quarter of cargoes bought came from the US over the month, with the lions share of material coming from Europe.