Turkish mills’ scrap demand has slowed this week. Mills are seen preferring to wait for a while before concluding imported scrap bookings for April shipment.

Although scrap suppliers have further increased their price targets this week, they see no buying interest from Turkish mills. A Baltic-origin scrap supplier is heard to have offered HMS 1&2 80:20 at $458/tonne cfr, while another is seeking $465/t cfr. A US-origin supplier is targeting to sell the same grade at $465/t cfr for March shipment. Two European suppliers are offering material at above $450/t and $455/t cfr respectively.

A supplier tells Kallanish: “No mill is paying these values today. I find the workable price for premium HMS 1&2 80:20 at $450-455/t cfr today, not higher.”

Another supplier says: “There is resistance to higher prices from buyers. Some are aiming to delay purchases and hunt for a panicked seller that will agree to sell at a lower price. However, dock prices reached €380/t [$404] in the EU, while the US market is preparing to increase prices by $40/gross ton. I am afraid Turkish mills will face higher prices on their return to the market.”

With Turkish mills’ scrap demand slowing, the market is discussing if values have peaked. However, most scrap suppliers believe prices will increase further due to supply issues in scrap supplying regions.

The latest deal was concluded at $450/t from the Baltic, $445/t from the EU and $445/t cfr Turkey from the UK for HMS 1&2 80:20 at the end of last week (see Kallanish passim).

Short-sea suppliers have also increased their price targets today. Some are seen offering at above $445/t cfr. A Turkish mill bought short-sea scrap at $440/t cfr on Monday.

In the rebar market, offers increased to $765-785/t ex-works on Tuesday. A southern mill is seen offering even at $795/t. Demand, however, remained weak on Tuesday as buyers are mostly cautious over these levels. Some mills are seen limiting their sales to small volumes while some closed sales to stockists.

As for exports, a western mill sold a 4,500-tonne cargo comprising rebar and wire rod at $750/t and $770/t fob actual weight respectively towards the end of last week. Rebar sales to Yemen occurred at around the same level. However, these prices are far from acceptable for buyers in other regions.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s state gas distributor Botas further decreased natural gas prices for industrial use by 20.95-26.12%, effective March, following a 13.3-17.22% reduction in February.