The Turkish ferrous scrap market remained stable Tuesday as a spate of deals came to light affirming Monday's sentiment.
A Benelux-based merchant sold 15,000 mt of HMS I/II (75:25), 5,000 mt of shred, 10,000 mt of 4A baled scrap and 5,000 mt of HMS I at $208/mt CFR.
Another European merchant sold 15,000 mt of HMS I/II (75:25), 15,000 mt of bonus and 3,000 mt of busheling at $207/mt CFR to an Iskenderun-based buyer.
A German merchant was also heard to have sold 75:25 and bonus to an Iskenderun-based electric arc furnace at $198/mt CFR and $213/mt CFR, respectively.
Based on these sales, Platts maintained its assessment of Turkish premium 80:20 imports at $207/mt CFR.
One European trader said the tradable value of premium HMS I/II (80:20) was around $210/mt CFR, while a Turkey-based trader said the market was stable at $205/mt CFR.
A European merchant pegged value at $205-208/mt CFR for premium 80:20, while an agent for Baltic merchants said they would target $208-210/mt CFR for their 80:20.
A Black Sea merchant said the rally had taken him by surprise.
"I didn't expect such a steep increase in scrap prices. ... It's hard to tell how much prices are still going to increase, and even harder to choose the right moment to sell," he said.
There certainly seemed to be a lack of clarity after the surge in Chinese prices, which filtered into whopping offer rises from Turkish mills. Rebar offers had moved up from $370-380/mt CFR Dubai on Monday to $395-410/mt CFR, sources said Tuesday.
Participants were reticent about estimating repeatable value of premium 80:20.
A large EAF-based buyer said 75:25 was trading around $200/mt (though the latest sales suggest it was closer to $198/mt), and added the differential to 80:20 was around $5-10/mt. The differential has typically been fixed around 4.3%, but has been more elastic of late.
