Exclusive Turkish scrap prices increased by $8/t in early May

Steel mills had to return to procurement after a long pause

Quotations for HMS 1&2 (80:20) scrap in Turkey increased from $330/t to $338/t CFR from April 30 to May 6, according to Kallanish. Suppliers have raised their requests as mills are planning the necessary purchases for June.

At the same time, rebar producers failed to add the higher scrap price to their quotations. Therefore, the potential for a rise in scrap prices in Turkey is still limited.

Steel production in Turkey in Q1 decreased by 3.4% – to 9.25 million tons, according to the Turkish Steel Producers Association (TCUD). At the same time, consumption of finished rolled products fell by 7.3% – to 9.06 million tons.

This reflects the accumulation of negative trends in the Turkish economy. Finished steel is getting cheaper due to lower demand. In turn, this pushes down prices for commodities, including scrap.

From April 25 to May 2, Chinese scrap prices remained at $320/t CFR. The decline in pig iron prices in China allows plants to use less scrap for steelmaking. Steel billets produced by BF-BOF have an advantage over EAF scrap-based products. Consequently, demand for scrap is rather sluggish.

Bids from HMS 1&2 (80:20) scrap suppliers in the US increased by $6/t from April 25 to May 9, to $310/t FOB East Coast. Here, the potential for price increases is also limited by weak demand from steel mills. A number of companies have refused to accept scrap shipments that were pre-ordered in April.

Western European quotations for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from May 2 to 9 increased by $6/t to $309/t FOB Rotterdam. But this is still $1/t less than on April 25. Local scrap dealers reacted to the rise in Turkish prices. Turkey is the main buyer of European scrap.

As reported, Turkey increased its exports of steel products by 18.5% y/y – to 3.8 million tons in January-March 2025. In monetary terms, the figure increased by 8.4% to $2.6 billion, according to TCUD. At the same time, the export-import coverage ratio decreased from 84.6% to 74.7%.