The light iron scrap market in the United Kingdom was steady for a fourth week in the week to Friday May 4, with a steady fall in sterling against the dollar in the past fortnight enough to shore up support for prices, industry sources told Metal Bulletin.
Market sentiment suggests a potential increase in export demand for British steel scrap because of moves in the dollar-pound exchange rate, which would tighten supply in the UK. Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for UK grade-5C ferrous scrap on an inter-merchant basis was ?90-120 ($122-163) per tonne on May 4. This compares with a price of ?90-115 per tonne on February 9, an annual low.A weaker pound makes UK exports cheaper while a stronger dollar makes exports cheaper for traditional buyers of scrap from the UK who work in a market where...