The monthly Davis Index for Spanish consumer ferrous scrap declined by €20/mt at the conclusion of March mill-yard negotiations.
Mills responded to the escalating COVID-19 outbreak by withdrawing bids for seaborne ferrous scrap and reducing order volumes for domestically sourced material.
The Davis Index for E1 (old thin), E3 (old thick), and E40 (shredded) dropped by €20/mt over the past month to €180/mt, €200/mt, and €220/mt, respectively, delivered to mill.
ArcelorMittal recently declared force majeure on its raw materials delivery and has reduced output across its European operations to ensure both employee safety and that production and demand align.
ArcelorMittal Europe, in particular, operates two blast furnaces in Gijón with a combined annual capacity of 4.8mn mt, as well as an electric arc furnace (two ladles/modules) in Sestao with annual steelmaking capacity of 1.8mn mt.
Other large Spanish scrap-intensive steel mills have yet to make announcements about continuing operations amid the pandemic, but reduced steel output in response to declining demand will significantly reduce ferrous scrap consumption and prices in the short term.