The Turkish ferrous scrap price rally, which has come on the back of domestic mills stocking up for the winter as well as the Chinese long steel market seeing multi-year highs, continued Thursday.
Platts TSI assessed Turkish imports of premium heavy melting scrap I/II (80:20) at $352/mt CFR, a $6/mt rise from Wednesday.
It is the second time in 2017 the price has breached $350/mt, with the other occasion August 18's $357/mt CFR assessment.
The rally has been ongoing since November 13, when the price bottomed out at $301/mt CFR.
Eight trades, including two involving US cargoes, were reported in the market, all for January shipment.
The latest deal heard was a Scandinavian cargo of 22,500 mt of 80:20 at $352/mt and 2,500 mt of bonus material at $362/mt.
A number of sources indicated the deal is reflective of current price level for ferrous scrap.
Prior to the latest deal, prices looked to be firming only slightly on Thursday as new trades continued to come to light through the day.
Market participants found it difficult to tell how high prices may move, with one Turkish buyer noting that in recent days prices have been changing a few dollars every few hours.
A European trader said strong demand in the Turkish domestic rebar steel market could be added to the list of price drivers.
He cautioned, however, that some players are purely speculating on how high prices may go, saying "we have already seen a long [price] rally. I am not sure how long this can continue."
The Turkish scrap swaps forward curve, which is settled against the Platts TSI daily assessment, moved into backwardation on Thursday.
The current month traded at $351.50/mt, a $4/mt increase compared with Wednesday, but a 50 cents/mt discount to the day's spot price.
The January swap fell $1.50/mt to $346/mt while February and March declined to $343.50/mt and $341.50/mt, respectively.
