Trading timelines obscured firm pricing in the Turkish import scrap market Friday, as two trades heard this week showed differing direction.
A new trade was heard Friday, and confirmed to be done at the start of the week by a source close to the transaction. The cargo was of Baltic origin and contained 29,000 mt of 80:20 at $229/mt and 6,000 mt of shred at $234/mt for September shipment.
Earlier in the week a Baltic cargo at $225/mt was heard and reported, also said to be concluded at the start of the week.
Some skepticism met the offered timeline. Another Baltic merchant said the cargo was two weeks old, while an agent for a third Baltic scrapyard believed it was fresh.
According to a European trader, the deal was relevant and proved that the $225/mt booking had been undersold against the market price.
The surfacing of another cargo left the degree of the downtrend this week in question, though supply fundamentals heard Friday pointed toward further falls next week.
A minimum of eight bulk cargoes were available in the market, the agent for the European scrapyard said.
"I heard that some Baltic sellers are starting to panic and are talking down numbers. Apparently there's a lot of scrap in the Baltic, EU and UK right now," an Asian trader said.
Reports on yard inventory this week pointed to tighter supply conditions, as intake prices through July encouraged little flow.
S&P Global Platts assessed HMS I/II 80:20 at $227/mt on Friday, up $1 from Thursday, to reflect the midpoint of the two trades.
