Stronger market conditions were seen in the Turkish import ferrous scrap market on Wednesday, as sellers upped offerings based on expected increases within US and European domestic markets.
Two US sellers offered 80:20 at $240/mt, a $5/mt rise over Tuesday, according to sellers and traders in the market. A lone European offering was heard at $228/mt for 75:25, according to a European trader.
"There are potential buyers, but most of the sellers -- especially USA -- prefer to wait for next week," said an agent for a Baltic merchant.
The higher prices are likely to be accepted by Turkish producers, a European trader said, as booking for May shipments was due to begin.
April scrap booking are estimated at around 1 million mt, said a Baltic merchant. This is still below average for Turkish mills - who booked a total of 16.25 million mt of import ferrous scrap in 2015, as reported by Platts earlier in March.
Turkish producers may be able to pressure the market in return and mitigate the strength of the increase. Two mills were heard to have booked billet from China in the last week - though these cargoes will not arrive until around the end of June.
Platts assessed HMS I/II 80:20 CFR Turkey at $230.50/mt on Wednesday, up $1/mt from Tuesday.
