Italian domestic ferrous scrap prices have dropped by €100-105 ($101-106) per tonne compared with June because steelmakers have good scrap inventories, due to weak demand for finished steel products, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday July 12.
With prices being very low, in the opinion of scrap sellers, some dealers decided to stop deliveries to mills, and to demand an increase in the mills’ purchasing prices, the sources said.
Some Italian scrap traders were trying to offer material to India and to Turkey, which sets the tone in scrap pricing. But with the Middle Eastern country out of the market for the Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday, there was consequently no clarity in the market about future prices, and foreign buyers’ activity was muted, sources said.
“The recent increase in import scrap values in Turkey has no effect on the situation in the domestic scrap prices in Italy,” a seller-side source said.
“Lot of scrap dealers are ready to sell, but mills are not interested in buying. Now, with very low prices, we work on ‘open contracts’ without fixed quantities of supply,” one Italian scrap trader said.
“The Italian domestic [steel scrap] market has died,” another seller-side market participant said. “Steel mills’ [scrap] stocks are sufficient. Mills will be closed [for summer holidays and maintenance] from the last week of July until the end of August, so some have already stopped receiving scrap now [and will not start again until] the end of August.”
Another trading source added that “some mills will be closed for maintenance from Friday.”
Meanwhile, prices for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Italy, continued to fall, with material on offer at €810-875 ($818-883) per tonne exw on June 6, down by €30 per tonne week-on-week and by €80-120 per tonne month-on-month, due to weak trading and sluggish demand.
As a result, Fastmarkets’ latest price assessment for steel scrap, E3 old thick scrap, domestic, delivered mill, Italy, was €240-250 per tonne on July 12, down by €100-105 per tonne from €345-350 per tonne on June 15.
The price assessment for steel scrap, E40 shredded, delivered to mill, Italy, was €260 per tonne on the same day, down by €100 per tonne from €360 per tonne in the same comparison.
And the corresponding price assessment for steel scrap, E8 thin new production steel scrap, domestic, delivered mill, Italy, was €250-270 per tonne on July 12, down by €100 per tonne from €350-370 per tonne on June 15.
Published by: Elina Virchenko
