Last week raw material prices remained fairly stable as the third quarter approached and the market is expected to calm down slightly during the July and August period.

Turkish scrap values remained at $355/tonne cfr last week. The scrap market had recovered slightly around 10 June and then stabilised further. The pick-up in momentum came as the US announced the imposition of import tariffs on European, Mexican and Canadian product. This had the effect of levelling the playing field with key exporting countries to the US such as Turkey and the CIS.

Last year, after a period of stability seen during May and June, the market jumped by over $60/t during July and August. While a similar recovery is not expected this time, some minor increases in the first part of Q3 could be possible as the market seems stronger than during May and the beginning of June. In addition, the latest results in the Turkish elections are expected to have taken away, at least for the moment, the potential uncertainty arising from sudden political change.

In line with the movements of scrap, CIS billet prices remained stable last week but could well recover as Q3 starts.