Sentiment in the Turkish steel scrap import market remained strong Tuesday, but prices slipped modestly on a the back of a cheaper deal.
A European merchant sold 40,000 mt of Heavy Melting Scrap I and HMS I/II to a medium-sized Turkish mill for $369.50/mt and $349.50/mt CFR, respectively, sources said.
This was normalized to about $364/mt CFR, where Platts daily assessment settled, down $1 from Monday.
US merchants were offering above $365/mt CFR based on previous trades, but no deals were heard at this price Tuesday.
A3 deals from Black Sea suppliers have been concluded in the region of $350/mt CFR Turkey, pegging A3 FOB Black sea daily scrap assessment at $322.50/mt FOB.
Opinion remained split on the short-term direction of the market.
Mill sources pointed to their modest appetite for scrap amid decreased output and continued uncertainty in the domestic market.
But others said an election is nearing that could help quiet recent political instability and said domestic longs prices were trending upward, buoyed by tighter availability and rising demand.
Whether Turkish scrap prices will be affect by Monday's sharp drop in iron ore prices remains to be seen, one trader said.
Ore prices fell by $7/dry mt, according to Platts data, as the increasingly tight credit squeeze hampered mills' ability to purchase the raw material.
The trader said there may be a flood of cheaper Chinese longs offered into primary export destinations, adding that offers for finished longs from China into Southeast Asia are already, strangely, below billet prices, sources have said.
Turkey and China compete in end-use markets.
Platts on Thursday assessed China rebar at $483-487/mt FOB, while Turkey's rebar exports were assessed at $553.5-558.5/mt.
Some analysts and market commentators have said Beijing's attempts to curb pollution in China, partly through enforced crude steel production cuts, could bolster prices.
