A Turkish electric arc furnace producer booked a deepsea cargo of ferrous scrap above the last premium sale of heavy melting scrap I/II (80/20 blend) from a major US recycler as the market ticked up on the strength in North America, market participants said Thursday.

A cargo of HMS I/II (80/20 blend) was concluded at $363/mt CFR Iskenderun, with a portion of shredded material at $368/mt CFR in the same cargo, market participants said.

Platts daily assessment moved up to $363/mt CFR Turkish ports for premium HMS I/II (80/20 blend) on Thursday as a result of the above trade.

Other mills deliberating over whether to purchase at this level said the offer for HMS was $365/mt CFR Turkish ports from the large supplier, offering shipments a month or so out.

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For shortsea material, suppliers were also understood to be increasing their offers, with one large EAF producer hearing a trade of Russian A3 demolition material done at $352/mt CIF Marmara, while Romania and Bulgaria pushed for $350/mt CFR Marmara for its HMS I/II (80/20 blend).

A seller said that while some mills short of material could book at these higher prices, for now most producers were booking shortsea scrap at $347-350/mt CFR Marmara-Nemrut Bay.

"The US exporters have increased their port prices and are consequently selling higher to Turkey," one procurement manager said. "At the moment there is little reaction in the finished product market, as Ramadan has caused most markets other than the Turkish local one to become more quiet."