Turkish scrap imports slowed to a trickle this week, with only one deep-sea booking confirmed from the UK that did little to indicate price direction. Some merchants were not accepting mills’ lower bids, despite being eager to sell material before winter. It is nevertheless expected scrap will fall further to enable mills to offer rebar competitively to major markets such as United Arab Emirates.

The UK cargo comprised a HMS 1&2 80:20 component priced at $208/tonne cfr Turkey. This is down $4/t on the last reported EU-origin booking last week. However, at the end of last week, as reported, US-origin 80:20 was booked at $210/t, indicating an EU/UK equivalent price of $205-206/t. It is difficult, then, to garner from the latest deal a clear message on scrap price direction.

Mills are now bidding for US scrap at $207/t, but merchants are not prepared to conclude deals at this price, according to one Turkish mill source. Buyers in international markets have simultaneously reduced their bids for Turkish rebar, but mills are reluctant to meet them until scrap declines further. Such is the conundrum.

Turkish mills’ offers to UAE have now fallen to $355-360/t cfr Dubai theoretical weight, or $350-355/t fob Turkey actual weight, but this has not spurred any bookings. One Dubai-based trader says he is confident there will be deals next week for November shipment.

“Mills are pushing for sales but nobody is interested,” a Turkish rebar trader tells Kallanish. Another trader says: “I think next week we will see $200/t for scrap because producers’ [rebar] sales are in trouble – they are really desperate. There are no rebar buyers in the market for over $350-360/t fob Turkey.” Mills' rebar offers are down to $365-370/t fob.

One solution to encourage scrap to fall further would be for Turkish mills to turn to billet as an alternative feedstock. Prices of the semi from the CIS have dropped to $310-315/t fob Black Sea, with one supplier heard offering as low as $295/t fob.