Since November, steel scrap prices in Germany were on an upward trajectory, more pronounced in some months than in others. But this came to a halt in March, as prices tumbled again for the first time in months. According to traders, steel mills took advantage of the current weak demand on the export market to implement price cuts of between €10-30 per tonne, depending on the scrap grade and timing of the deal.
Whether there will be further price reductions in April will depend largely on when Turkish buyers become more active on the market again. Steel producers in Turkey have had subdued demand recently. Market participants say this may be partly due to the softening of international sales markets for reinforcement steel (rebar), and the recent start of Ramadan may also be a factor.
On the domestic German market, scrap demand varied significantly from mill to mill in March, according to merchants. While some producers, especially the integrated mills, had less need for scrap, there was "surprisingly good” demand from several electric arc furnace (EAF) steel plants.
This is all the more remarkable as steel producers once again bemoaned their poor order situation in the price negotiations, say scrap traders. "There was a lot of moaning and complaining, but they purchased volumes nevertheless,” one recycler commented. It is difficult to say how much of this is tactical manoeuvring, EUWID was told.
Read the full monthly report on the ferrous scrap market in Germany and access the current prices and graphing tools here:
