Last week (April 16-23), scrap quotations decreased in all regional markets due to weakening demand for long products and the beginning of Ramadan in Muslim countries. In Turkey, a key market for Ukraine, the cost of HMS 1&2 (80:20) fell to $425/mt CIF. In the previous week (April 9-16), the range of quotations was at the level of $425-435/mt CIF.Turkish metallurgists reduced their purchases of raw materials to a minimum due to sluggish business activity in the segment of long products during religious holidays. Transactions were carried out only by individual buyers who needed prompt delivery of raw materials. The rest of the players use previously accumulated raw materials, the remains of which in warehouses are quite high and allow avoiding large purchases in the coming weeks.
In the Asian market, the cost of scrap metal also went down. South Korean factories have formed large reserves of raw materials. In addition, some of them have significant volumes of imported billets for rolling. Considering the increase in supply from American traders, the downward trend looks quite natural. The cost of HMS1 scrap was $420-430/mt CIF.
Over the next month, export quotations for scrap metal will gradually decline against the backdrop of weakening demand for long products, lower prices for iron ore and increased supply from US and EU suppliers. Quite high stocks of raw materials from the largest importers will also have a negative impact on prices. The forecast range of scrap prices for the current week is $415-425/mt CIF.
Source: "Ukrpromvneshexpertiza"
