The daily Davis Index for Turkish imports of US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) slipped by $1.55/mt to $425.44/mt cfr on Thursday on two bulk sales out of Europe.
One vessel carrying a mix of heavy melt, shredded, and bonus scrap was booked at a composite price of $421/mt cfr Europe, while a second comprising mostly of heavy melt and cut grades traded at an HMS 1&2 (80:20) price level of $421/mt.
European HMS 1&2 (80:20) is trading at $4-5/mt below US-grade which sent the index for US-origin heavy melt to $425.44/mt cfr on Thursday.
The deals align with the prevailing market sentiment that cargoes can trade into Turkey at HMS 1&2 (80:20) levels of around $425/mt cfr while its mills buy some time to gauge the potential ramifications of recent changes at its central bank which sent the Turkish lira crashing.
Mills will continue to push for billet export sales to drive margins after domestic rebar trading activity took a hit when lira-denominated domestic rebar prices rose in response to a currency that lost 13pc against the US dollar in March.
Demand for billet and rebar remains strong from southeast Asia, and mills will look to secure more orders before leaping into a scrap market that has most suppliers hoping for increases.
Still, domestic scrap flows in most supplying regions have improved seasonally, as thawing winters bring more scrap into the market. And flows have been strong with scrap above the $400/mt level.
Mills in domestic and seaborne markets will look to capitalise on increased flows, with the US domestic market signalling weakness for April trade.
Suppliers of course have cited record spreads between scrap and flat steel, and long products in a push to improve processor margins.