Ferrous scrap prices held stable Friday as market participants, waiting for an industry conference next week to give clarity to price direction, reported no deals or firm offers.
Platts' daily assessment Friday stood at $360/mt CFR Turkish ports after moving down Thursday for premium HMS I/II (80/20 blend), reflecting lower prices booked for a premium-graded cargo. However, these were booked before the US Federal Reserve's decision to sustain its monetary stimulus which saw gains for the Turkish lira.
A European supplier said he was negotiating sales but would not know the outcome until Monday. He suggested that bids from buyers were higher because a stronger Turkish lira.
A second European supplier agreed that perhaps Turkish buyers should in theory pay more, but said it had not yet happened. "Price weakening may have stopped but we will see next week," he added.
According to a Black Sea trader, no trade had occurred after Thursday's announcement from the US Fed and "all costs are now completely different no-one can understand what's going on."
There was pressure on finished products as well as ferrous scrap to increase, the Black Sea trader noted.
However, he agreed with the European traders that the market was waiting for Monday for the start of the industry conference in Turkey to gain insight into the market.
Other sources reported no price ideas from the US, while a 30,000 mt Baltic cargo was offered above the market price idea at $370/mt.
