Turkish steel mills booked at least five deep-sea Handysize cargoes of ferrous scrap this week from the US East Coast and Baltic regions at $370/mt CFR for heavy melting scrap I/II (80/20 blend).

Platts daily HMS I/II (80/20 blend) assessment remained at this level.

Less price pressure was being exerted on Turkish mills by Chinese export offers last week because iron ore prices shot up on re-stocking sources said. Sales were therefore achieved by several Turkish mills to traditional export markets, allowing for mills to push ahead with procurement.

Three US suppliers (two recyclers and a major trader) were involved in sales to Turkish mills, sources said. Some 200,000 mt of scrap were sold, with mills in Aliaga and Marmara regions purchasing four of the five cargoes. The cargoes sold are for end-October-November shipments.

Suppliers said they were convinced mills would still need scrap shipments earlier in October, particularly because Black Sea suppliers were slightly more stubborn in holding out for higher prices last week. A Russian sale made at $365/mt CFR Nemrut on Thursday showed the discount (normally $10/mt) halving of Rostov-origin to US East Coast-origin demolition scrap.

Mills that dip into Black Sea supplies regularly could, therefore, be tempted to purchase larger shipments in the coming week. The ex-Baltic sale was made at $372/mt CFR Iskenderun for 27,000 mt of A3 and 14,000 mt of shred, more or less in line with the ex-US East Coast business.

Talk of a single France-origin vessel being sold to a Turkish mill this week could not be confirmed. Prices in the eurozone remained largely uncompetitive with dollar-based sales to Turkey due to the continued strength of the euro against the dollar.

Source: Platts