The weekly Davis Indexes for HMS 1&2 in the north and south UK climbed by £7/mt ($9/mt) and £10/mt over the past week to £145/mt, respectively, delivered dockside on Tuesday.
While ferrous scrap prices on major seaborne trade routes have plateaued of late, UK bulk exporters rumoured to be holding short positions were forced to raise buying prices to secure sufficient volumes.
This latest price hike will narrow margins and likely reduce the number of options in exporting material to continental Europe, where some ferrous scrap traders had been conducting regular business.
Focus among local merchants has now shifted towards monthly settlements with UK steel producers, with some market participants indicating that mills have open negotiations with bids of £15/mt up on last month’s levels.
The weekly index for north and south UK OA (Plate & Structural) ferrous scrap increased £3/mt to £163/mt delivered dockside over the past week. At the same time, the weekly index for north and south UK 5A/5C (frag feed) climbed £2/mt to £85/mt over the same period.
(£1 = $1.26)