Ferrous scrap market bracing for July price fall

Jun 28, 2012 | 01:31 PM | Sean Davidson

Tags  ferrous scrap, scrap prices, shredded scrap, Sean Davidson

NEW YORK — A marginal increase in ferrous scrap export prices over the past few days will do little to prevent domestic ferrous scrap prices from losing ground in July, according to industry sources.

Many mills across the country are likely to make very limited buys in July, and many have sufficient inventory to delay buying until the second week of the month, several sources told AMM.

All market participants contacted by AMM said they expect domestic prices to drop in July, although the curve ball thrown by stronger export numbers has people predicting a decline of anywhere from $10 to $50 per gross ton. Speculation came with the caveat that there was too much uncertainty to estimate a narrower range.

"It will be softer for sure, but (I’m) not certain where it settles out," one large supplier said. "Mills are in good shape overall, so I don’t see much buying until after July 4. Several have scrap on hold or limited releases. Not good news. The Turkish and Asian markets bottoming are good, but I doubt they (can) stop a decent drop from occurring."....