The weekly Davis Index for north UK HMS 1&2 (80:20) ferrous scrap increased by £10/mt ($12/mt) to £120/mt delivered dockside and the index for south UK HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose by £14/mt to £119/mt delivered on Tuesday.
Some southern UK collectors had initially cautioned that material would stop flowing across the “weighbridge” unless demands of £150/mt for the material were met in the latest round of weekly negotiations.
However, most UK bulk exporters limited increases to £10-14/mt this week, depending on location, and defended relatively wide margins, despite a similar absolute increase in Turkish ferrous scrap import prices over the past three weeks.
Market participants believe that the momentum in Turkish HMS 1&2 (80:20) ferrous scrap benchmarks has fizzled out since reaching its recent peak of $257/mt cfr on April 15, with UK bulk ferrous scrap exporters not willing to pay higher prices for dockside deliveries citing slower Turkish demand and a potential correction in prices.
The weekly index for north and south UK OA (Plate & Structural) ferrous scrap increased by £5/mt over to £135/mt delivered dockside, while the weekly index for north and south UK 5A/5C (frag feed) climbed £7/mt to £70/mt delivered dockside.
(£1 = $1.23)