The daily Davis Index for Turkish imports of US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) increased by $9/mt to $481.25/mt cfr on Wednesday.
Prices rose after a bid for scrap at $480/mt cfr was rejected by one supplier, while others suggested they were looking at anywhere between $485-500/mt cfr for their material.
A number of US cargo sales to Mexico and Brazil and imminent cargo bookings from China have lifted seller sentiment.
Turkish mills need to book an estimated 10-12 cargoes for February shipment and are expected to be in the market early next week to secure these tonnages. Efforts to contain the bullish sentiment that has fueled markets for the past six weeks appear to have fallen short amid continued bookings of US cargoes by other countries.
The resulting scrap supply squeeze and robust rebar prices of $635-640/mt fob Turkey have combined with the speculation of over $50/mt increases in January trade in the US domestic market, to fuel bulk market sentiment.
Asian bulk markets have also increased this week with the bid-offer range for shredded scrap to Bangladesh rising to $490-510/mt cfr.