This week's drop in the inter-merchant spot market for UK light iron scrap ended a 10-week run of stability, with weakening export prices to key destinations in Turkey and the Indian sub-continent weighing on British domestic steel scrap prices.
The move is seen as a precursor to contract settlements for delivery of steel scrap to British steelmakers from domestic suppliers - sources expect them to be done in the next week, they told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was down ?70-95 ($86-117) per tonne on Friday September 6, down from $80-100 a week earlier. The market had previously been unchanged since June 21."British car scrap arisings are well down, probably 30% this year, and also building scrap is tailing off," one UK steel scrap supplier said. "Turkey steel scrap import prices are moving down...