Steel billet prices in most of the world's major markets maintained their upward momentum during the week ended Friday February 8, with ferrous scrap becoming increasingly costlier.
Fastmarkets' daily index for Northern Europe-origin heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20) was $319.28 per tonne cfr Turkey on February 7, up $21.89 per tonne from $297.39 per tonne cfr on February 1.No updates were heard from China due to the country's February 4-10 public holiday to mark the Lunar New Year.TurkeyDomestic, export and import prices for billet in Turkey recorded notable increases during the week, boosted by the surge in scrap costs as well as buyers of the semi-finished steel product agreeing to pay more.The scrap price uptrend was caused by Turkish scrap buyers replenishing their stocks after several months of thin buying activity, and because of higher collection costs during the winter.In response, domestic billet offers in Turkey jumped $20 per tonne week on week to $460 per tonne ex-works. Buyers also made bookings at $460 per tonne ex-works, even though they were bidding at just $420-425 per tonne...