Turkish import ferrous scrap dropped $1/mt on Wednesday as sources in the market swapped details of several scrap trades, though uncertain quality differentials blurred the depth of the fall.
Platts assessed HMS I/II 80:20 at $177/mt CFR Turkey, $1/mt down from Tuesday.
A Turkish electric arc furnace-based producer bought a cargo from a Benelux merchant containing 25,000 mt of 75:25, 5,000 mt of shred, 5,000 mt of busheling and 5,000 mt of P&S for an average price of $175/mt.
This equated to $172/mt for 75:25 material, or $179/mt for 80:20. A Turkish trader argued that differentials had narrowed to $5/mt between European and US material, placing the cargo at $177/mt.
The tightening in differential between two origins represented a tightening of supply availability, a European merchant said. However, this was heavily contradicted, as most sources agred that a dire rebar market in Turkey was causing a demand drought.
A premium UK merchant sold a cargo to another EAF-based producer last week at $176/mt. An alleged participant in this transaction said that despite the trade being discussed in the market, it was incorrect.
Another UK merchant with high quality material sold to the same EAF-based producer at $174.50/mt for 25,000 mt of 80:20. This material was said to command a $2-$5/mt discount.
Estimations firmly looked to the market moving down, and valuations fell into a range of $175-$180/mt.
