Global spot prices were on a downtrend over the week ended Friday January 4 because of weak demand in many scrap importing markets.
There was limited liquidity in the key markets of Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam because some market participants had not returned from new year holidays.Market participants expected prices to continue on the downtrend in the coming weeks, in the face of subdued downstream segments and poor appetite among steel mills.Turkey importsThe Turkish scrap import market was silent for most of the week, with mills holding back from scrap purchases due to sluggish demand in Turkey for finished steel.Most suppliers were still on holiday, sources said.The most recent cargo booking into the country was last weekend from the Baltic Sea, at $283 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20). The deal sent the daily indices down by around $6 per tonne, and since then mills have been absent from the deep-sea market.And market participants do not expect to see any bookings next week, sources told Fastmarkets.As a result of the lack of...