The Turkish scrap import edged up on Monday after two US sales and two more Canadian sales were heard concluded in the second half of last week.
US-origin HMS 1/2 80:20 was heard sold at $502-503/t on a cfr Iskenderun and a cfr Izmir basis on 11 June, both for July shipment. US offers were introduced earlier in the week at $510/t cfr Turkey.
A Canadian supplier was heard to sell two more cargoes on 10 June on a cfr Iskenderun and a cfr Izmir basis, resulting in it selling a total of four cargoes last week, the same move it made the last time it sold to Turkey in the first half of April. All four cargoes were heard traded for July shipment.
The supplier is heard to have sold in a similar $8/t price range both this time for July shipment with four cargoes and last time for April shipment with four cargoes.
Turkish mills will likely anticipate the supplier to show similar strong availability the next time it offers a cargo.
Several Baltic cargoes were offered today, with the suppliers resisting any sale below $505/t cfr Turkey for premium HMS 1/2 80:20. Continental European suppliers also set targets at the $502-503/t premium-equivalent mark for their HMS 1/2 80:20 based on domestic numbers at around those levels. Suppliers with shredded material to sell will have stronger negotiating power.
North American sales at prices just above $500/t cfr Turkey make sense based on dockside purchasing prices and stocks have often been kept on hand for relatively narrow sales lead times in the past few months compared to Baltic and European sales lead times. The US/Canada deals are not expected to place much downward pressure on the Turkish import price amid strong US/European domestic scrap demand, strong rebar demand for Turkish product, and mills’ increased scrap-rebar margins.
Rebar trading is expected to occur between Turkey and southeast Asia in the next week. The Asian market was quiet as it waited to see if China continues its price increases tomorrow after today’s national holiday.
Southeast Asian importers now have limited opportunities in the seaborne markets after Indian material was sold at the start of June, and discussions are heard to be veering towards $735-740/t fob Turkey with Turkish offers at $750/t fob. Very little August shipment material has been traded between Turkey and southeast Asia.
Turkish mills have been able to be firm with their export rebar offers in the past week because of both export and domestic sales combining last week and the week prior, and after Chinese prices rose throughout last week. The evident scrap availability from the US and Canada has seen Turkish steelmakers increased their scrap-rebar margins significantly after a dramatic increase in Turkish domestic rebar demand last week.
A total of 10 deep-sea cargoes were heard traded with Turkey for July shipment last week, meaning a maximum of three to four cargoes are now estimated to still be required for July shipment.
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