Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel beams domestic, delivered Northern Europe was €760-790 ($818-851) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week.
Similarly, Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel beams domestic, delivered Southern Europe was €760-790 per tonne on Wednesday, flat week on week.
The market was “really quiet” in the week, with little activity amid slow demand, sources told Fastmarkets.
A carnival celebration observed in Northern Europe in areas surrounding the Rhine River would mute the market in that region over the next week, sources added.
Meanwhile, scrap feedstock costs in Turkey’s bellwether market remained strong but largely flat throughout January and into February, Fastmarkets heard.
“[Turkish] scrap is on a side step, with a plus or minus $10 per tonne range,” a trader said.
Fastmarkets’ calculation of its daily index for steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix) North Europe origin, cfr Turkey was $417.74 per tonne on Wednesday, up by $4.27 per tonne week on week and by $1.56 per tonne month on month.
Upward pressure on scrap prices in Turkey, caused by increased collection costs, has weakened because local mills have been struggling with finished steel sales, market participants said.
Meanwhile, steel beam market sources expressed bearish sentiment about future demand from the construction industry and expected the slow consumption to last for weeks, if not months.
Published by: Holly Chant
