New York (Platts)--19Jan2011/550 am EST/1050 GMT
The Platts price assessment for shredded ferrous scrap for export jumped $50/lt to a new midpoint of $465/lt delivered to East Coast docks even as domestic prices remained stronger. The Platts price for domestic US shredded scrap was unchanged Tuesday at a midpoint of $475/lt delivered to Midwest mills, meaning most scrap dealers sold their shredded to domestic steelmakers. "We sold 85% of our January tonnage domestically," said one Southeast scrap dealer, at prices mostly around $480/lt delivered mill gate, the upper end of the Platts range. He said he was not sure if the remaining 15% would stay domestic, go offshore, or be held back for future sales. The highest bid he received from exporters for shredded, he said, was $460/lt delivered docks, a bid he rejected which was then surprisingly withdrawn. "I thought export would heat up, but then it just disappeared," he said, his comments echoing those from other scrap sources who said exporters simply gave up as it became clear they could not compete with domestic US prices. The Southeast scrap dealer said he would even accept a bid of $470/lt delivered docks, netting him slightly less than domestic sales, "just to keep some scrap moving offshore." Further, he said there is talk of European scrap being sold into India, frequently a buyer of US ferrous scrap. Turkey is said to have turned to European scrap suppliers as swiftly rising US export prices made them uncompetitive globally. Thus, it would make sense that other buyers, like the Indians, might also seek alternatives to US supply as prices in the US remain buoyant. Though several scrap sources have told Platts they read the February US scrap market sideways, weather-crippled scrap collection coupled with robust mill demand seemingly leave US scrap prices with very little downside, they acknowledged. --Matthew Lerner, matthew_lerner@platts.comSimilar stories appear in Steel Markets Daily. See more information at http://bit.ly/SteelMarketsDaily