The US ferrous scrap market has mostly settled for January, with market participants hinting that while tight No1 busheling may see continued upside in February, shredded scrap has become plentiful and has likely peaked.
Detroit kicked off trading on Wednesday January 6, while activity in the Chicago market dragged into Monday January 11.Fastmarkets' assessments of the consumer buying prices for steel scrap No1 busheling, delivered mill Chicago and steel scrap shredded auto scrap, delivered mill Chicago rose by $100 and $90 respectively to $480 per gross ton and $460 per gross ton on Monday.The January trade, unlike other months where a definite trend has been evident, was unique and basically an extension of the December 2020 trade. Mills that paid a supplier up $120 per ton in December were offering up $85 per ton in January. On the flip side, early December sellers that accepted up $70 per ton were paid $120 per ton to catch up with the actual price, according to a shredder source."There has been no rhyme nor reason for this entire trade, with everyone getting a different price or trend," a Chicago...