UK, Europe drive Turkish steel scrap imports in April

Turkish ferrous scrap imports rebounded in April to above 2mn t for the first time since December 2017.

The country took 2.02mn t in April, up from 1.71mn t in the previous month and just over 1.9mn t a year earlier. The majority of the increase was driven by higher imports from the UK, continental Europe and Russia, while shipments from the US fell by close to a fifth.

The UK surpassed the US as the largest scrap supplier to Turkey in April. UK shipments rose by 28pc on the year and 63pc on the month to 344,000t, while deliveries from the US fell to 317,000t from 456,000t a year earlier.

The fall in imports from the US could largely be attributed to strong US domestic demand for March delivery, which drove domestic prices up by $20/gt from February levels, and inland logistic disruptions caused by high water levels at several key rivers. In contrast, a stable domestic price in the UK may have encouraged exporters to sell on the deep-sea market in April. Argus assessed HMS 1/2 delivered to mill in the UK at £198/t ($255/t) in April, unchanged from the previous month.

Shipments from the Netherlands and Germany were also higher compared with the previous month and a year earlier, although the increase was partially offset by a lower volume arriving from Belgium. Turkey received 294,000t of scrap from the Netherlands in April, up by 60pc on the year. Imports from the Netherlands were 291,000t in March.

Arrivals from Germany were over five time higher in April compared with March, rising to 104,000t from 19,900t. Turkey received just below 30,000t of scrap from Germany in April 2018.

Turkish imports of Belgian scrap fell by 14pc on the month, or 43pc on the year, to 150,000t in April. This is likely because some Belgian exporters were able to sell cargoes to alternative destinations such as Egypt at a higher equivalent price.

Shipments from France rose to 85,000t in April from 75,000t in March, while imports of Polish scrap were virtually flat on the month at just above 26,000t.

Turkish imports from Russia were 209,000t in April, up by 38pc on the month and 7.8pc on the year.