December predictions that the German ferrous scrap market would see mark-ups of up to €15 for the first month of 2013 proved to be overly optimistic. While some companies managed to charge €5-10 per tonne more than in the month before, others had to make do with unchanged prices on a divided German market. Insiders now project unchanged prices on the whole for February.
The outlook for the coming month depends a great deal on whether weather conditions improve. The inland waterways are still free as of mid-January. If they should freeze, scrap prices are expected to rise. The current wintry conditions mean that almost no scrap metal is being collected. By contrast, new scrap arisings are good, sometimes very good.
The full report for the the German ferrous scrap market appears in EUWID Recycling and Waste Management 2/2013.
Online subscribers can already access the report on this website.