The daily Davis Index for Turkish imports of US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) increased by $16.67/mt to $426.67/mt cfr on Monday, with some sellers pushing for a lot higher.
European offers were confirmed at $425/mt cfr with others quoting $430-440/mt cfr amid an absence of material from the US and a surge in rebar prices. Rebar offer prices ranged around $620/mt fob Turkey Monday, up by $40/mt from Thursday.
Mills are in the market for scrap but have struggled to book orders since suppliers are hesitant to lock in offer prices amid daily increases in commodity prices across the steel complex.
Market participants said they expect a level of $435/mt cfr for heavy melt to materialize soon with a few eyeing a higher eventual target of $450-460/mt cfr.
Still, some market participants have started to talk about price peaks with some suggesting that prices could peak in a week or two while others expect this run to continue into the second week of January and then stop ahead of China’s annual new year holidays.
Asian bulk prices jumped another $10/mt higher with shred to Bangladesh being offered at above $450/mt cfr, and heavy melt to Korea in a bid-offer range of $430-440/mt cfr.
Mills in Bangladesh find themselves in a little bit of a predicament because domestic prices have slipped in recent days. Local shipbreaking scrap prices have dropped by $40/mt in the past 5 days amid a surge in processed scrap supply. This caused domestic rebar prices to soften a bit after rapid increases over four weeks.