Davis Index’s weekly north and south UK HMS 1&2 (80:20) ferrous scrap indices edged up by £2/mt ($3/mt) to £245/mt delivered dockside, respectively, on Tuesday.
UK dockside ferrous scrap benchmarks solidified around recent highs this week, with bulk processors reluctant to concede any further substantial price hikes.
Local merchant suppliers warned they may hold back material unless a portion of relatively healthy deepsea margins were allocated to them.
However, major British exporters cited weakness in the deepsea market following a recent $25/mt drop in Turkish HMS 1&2 (80:20) import prices over the past week.
As such, some UK dockside buyers were heard to have countered merchants with their own warning that they might have to drop prices by £10-15/mt because of weaker Turkish demand.
One UK-based trader commented that bulk processors were “fighting positivity with negativity” with respect to quelling higher price demands from suppliers.
The weekly indexes for north and south UK OA (Plate & Structural) climbed by £3/mt over the same period to £270/mt, respectively, delivered dockside on Jan 19.
Davis’ north and south UK 5A/5C (frag feed) ferrous scrap indices were unchanged at £172/mt, respectively, delivered dockside over the past week.
(£1 = $1.36)