After months of weak trading volumes and falling prices, the German ferrous scrap market is limping towards the end of the year. Once again, there was very modest demand from steel mills in Germany and neighbouring countries in November. Recyclers and traders describe business as sluggish and lacking momentum. In light of the weak order situation and to keep their inventories low for year-end accounting, steelworks were only purchasing scrap when they absolutely needed it.
In most cases, the scrap prices paid by steel mills declined slightly again. On the market for exports to Turkey, scrap merchants benefited from the appreciation of the US dollar following that country’s elections. As a result, the prices paid by exporters for material including delivery to deep-sea ports were nearly unchanged even though the dollar-denominated export price softened.
Traders generally do not expect any recovery in the ferous scrap business in December. It feels like the Christmas season has already started, they say. Market participants anticipate that some steel mills will start idling production as early as the end of November and most of the others are expected to follow suit by mid-December.
Read the full market report for steel scrap in Germany and access price charts and graphing tools here:
