Davis Index’ weekly northern Spain HMS 1&2 (80:20) and shredded small bulk ferrous scrap indices edged €2/mt ($2/mt) higher over the past week to €220/mt and €230/mt cfr, respectively, on Friday, July 31.
Price developments in the UK and European ferrous dockside markets have been relatively stagnant over the past week, due to a combination of slow month-end business activity and market participants waiting for clear direction from major seaborne benchmarks.
The number of bids, offers, and transactions were relatively slim over the same period with the main point of interest being that the transaction range had tightened to give a more accurate reading of where business was last done.
Some opportunistic buyers dropped bids well below what most suppliers deemed an acceptable level in response to a sudden and sharp 2.6pc appreciation of the euro against the US dollar to $1.19 on July 31 from $1.16 on July 24.
Looking forward, major seaborne benchmarks, particularly to Turkey, have shot up in the past 48 hours in response to a flurry of new bookings and this recent development will no doubt reverberate into other regional ancillary markets imminently.
Davis Index’ UK small bulk ferrous scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20) and shredded indices witnessed similar increases of €2/mt over the same period at €205/mt and €215/mt fob, respectively, on July 31.
(€1 = $ 1.19)