Turkish steelmakers' February scrap purchases rise

Turkish ferrous scrap importers increased their purchases of deep-sea bulk cargoes in February in response to a renewed wave of overseas and local steel demand.

Argus tracked 34 deep-sea scrap purchases by Turkish steelmakers totalling 939,500t in February, up from 23 purchases totalling 661,000t tracked in January. The number of deals were higher than the 31 tracked in February 2020, but deal volume fell by 6pc on the year.

The month-on-month increase came despite the fact the one of the largest Turkish steel mills, based in Izmir, was not heard to have purchased any deep-sea cargo throughout February. It is usually heard to buy around 150,000t of deep-sea scrap each month. A medium-sized Marmara mill also shows no record of any deep-sea purchases in February.

A total of 14 of the 34 cargoes recorded in February were traded in the final week of the month after Turkish rebar sales were made overseas in the third week of the month to various destinations in South America and the Middle East. Mills also looked to secure more import cargoes after US domestic March delivery price expectations strengthened.

Of the 34 deep-sea cargoes tracked in February, 12 were of US-origin, totalling 360,000t. Six Russian cargoes and six continental European cargoes traded, totalling 140,000t and 186,000t, respectively. Five Baltic cargoes at 140,000t, four UK cargoes at 96,000t and one South American cargo at 23,5000t were also tracked.

The Argus daily HMS 1/2 80:20 cfr Turkey steel scrap assessment increased by $53/t during the month from $403/t cfr on 1 February to $456/t cfr on 26 February.

Five of the six Russian trades took place in the final week of the month in the higher price range. The majority of the continental European trade took place in the first half of the month at a lower price range.

A total of 22 of the cargoes traded in February were for March shipment, eight were for April shipment and four were for February shipment.

By Alex Reynolds