Page 82 from: Recycling International May/June issue

MARKET ANALYSIS

Turkish import prices rise
As stock markets reeled in the wake of US

import tariffs, Türkiye’s scrap import prices

recovered in March amid firm US domestic

levels and a strong Euro.

82

COSTLIER SCRAP
Higher prices for ferrous scrap in
recent weeks had prompted electric
arc furnaces (EAFs) to turn to semi-fin-
ished products, according to the latest
outlook from the International Rebar
Exporters and Producers Association
(Irepas). Its March review notes that
markets have seen an almost US$ 30
per tonne increase for scrap. ‘The
increases in scrap prices force EAF
based mills to replace their scrap pur-
chases with the procurement of semis,’
the outlook says. EAF-based mills are
already priced out and the smart
choice is semi-finished imports from
Asia as evidenced by recent Turkish
import statistics. It is a battle of costs
right now and nothing else matters.’
Overall, Irepas says, ‘The current situa-
tion in the market can be described as
unstable with high volatility, with a
similar outlook.’ It believes the global
longs market has been overwhelmed

A U T H O R Robin Latchem P H O T O Shutterstock

While ferrous products were not
included in the latest round of US tar-
iffs, they had been affected by an ear-
lier round in March and recyclers
worldwide have been taking stock of
the implications.
The US’ Recycled Materials
Association (ReMA), which backs free
and fair trade policies, pointed out in a
briefing that the domestic recycled
materials industry is a net exporter
and supports nearly 600 000 jobs
nationwide, with the exports of recy-
clables helping to reduce the US trade
deficit. ‘US recyclers rely on interna-
tional market access to support their
workforce and these new [Trump] tar-
iffs, and any retaliatory measures they
may provoke, will only reduce the
competitiveness of our industry and

the manufacturers that rely on recy-
cled materials,’ ReMA commented.

TURKISH PRICES RISE
Meanwhile, Turkish import scrap prices
continued to recover in March, sup-
ported by strong US domestic scrap
price settlements, driven by the pro-
tectionist steel trade policies imple-
mented by President Trump. Platts,
part of S&P Global Commodity
Insights, assessed the benchmark price
of Turkish bulk import premium heavy
melting scrap (HMS) 1/2 (80:20) at US$
379 per tonne on a cost and freight
(CFR) basis on 2 April, softening slight-
ly from its Q1 high of US$ 382.50 CFR
on 28 March, which marked a US$50
recovery from the yearly low of US$
332.50 CFR on 17 January.
The rally in ferrous scrap prices seen at
the tail end of Q1 remained largely
driven by the firm US domestic scrap
prices, which allowed recyclers in the
other key scrap exporting regions to
follow suit and maintain firm CFR
Türkiye offers. Furthermore, while
Europe-origin offers also increased
alongside firm US-origin CFR Türkiye

offers, they were boosted by a sharp
appreciation in the value of the euro
against the dollar throughout the year
so far. A stronger euro supported
higher US dollar-denominated CFR
Türkiye offers from European recyclers,
thus making it difficult for sellers in the
region to offer concessions.
The stronger euro also coincided with
increased HMS collection costs in the
Benelux and Baltic regions, as sub-
suppliers took advantage of the rally in
export prices. HMS collection costs in
the Benelux region were reported at
as high as EUR 320 per tonne deliv-
ered to the docks in Q1, recovering
from lows of EUR 275-280 per tonne
delivered to the docks in early January.

POLITICAL UNREST
Turkish mills had to restock for their
March and April shipment require-
ments and were also faced with uncer-
tainty over near-term rebar sales vol-
umes and prices due to fast-changing
global trade policy and political pro-
tests in Türkiye, which affected domes-
tic rebar demand.
Scrap prices continued to climb
despite the Turkish mills struggling to
push domestic and rebar prices up
throughout the year, eroding profit
margins and narrowing the outright
scrap-to-rebar spread.
Platts assessed Turkish exported rebar
at US$ 570 per tonne on a free-on-
board (FOB) basis on 2 April, up just
US$ 20 from yearly lows of US$ 550 on
28 January. As such, the outright
scrap-to-rebar spread was assessed at
US$ 191 per tonne on 2 April, steadily
declining from a yearly high of US$
220 on 16 January because of higher
scrap costs.
Political unrest was triggered by the
arrest on 23 March of the mayor of
Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, a primary
opponent in the upcoming presiden-
tial elections. The move triggered
nationwide protests, hindering domes-
tic Turkish rebar flows and demand.

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