US East Coast dock collection prices for ferrous scrap were rangebound on Tuesday as tags lagged at unchanged levels or reflected soft movements over the past two weeks. Dock prices in Houston tapered off following elevated prices and demand last week.
Export activity has slackened since mid-September though export destination buyers have displayed renewed demand since late last week after several deals concluded.
Turkish mills were aggressively looking for US cargoes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $286-287/mt cfr on Tuesday. However, scrap exporters in the US are holding firm at $290/mt cfr at minimum, the same level since September 29.
Market participants expect collection prices on the East Coast to continue near the current range of $220-230/gt for HMS 1&2 (80:20) in the short term. The Houston dock is also projecting flat pricing through October.
In Boston, the weekly Davis Index for export yard HMS 1&2 (80:20) ticked down by $1/gt to $228/gt delivered dock. P&S 5ft remained unchanged at $239/gt delivered Boston dock, while shredder feed moved up by $5/gt to $164/gt delivered.
The weekly Davis Index for export yard buying prices in New York remained unchanged at $225/gt delivered for HMS 1&2 (80:20) and flat at $235/gt delivered dock for P&S 5ft. The index for shredder feed slid down by $2/gt to $166/gt delivered.
In Philadelphia, the index for export yard collection prices of HMS 1&2 (80:20) ticked down $3/gt to $224/gt delivered, and P&S 5ft fell by $4/gt to $234/gt delivered Philadelphia dock. The index for shredder feed fell $2/gt to $168/gt delivered.
The weekly Davis Indexes in Houston dropped by $4/gt for HMS 1&2 (80:20) to $258/gt, while P&S 5ft moved up by $7/gt to $279/gt due to a shortage in the grade. The shredder feed index inched up $1/gt to $194/gt delivered. Prices in Houston were up last week due to stronger export demand and resulting order fulfillments as well as inquiries from Mexico.