Published by:Geoff Mattson<>
17 Apr 2025 @ 20:40 UTC

A third US West Coast bulk ferrous scrap cargo to Bangladesh and an atypical East Coast sale to Greece surfaced on Thursday April 17, adding to signs of continued pressure on deep-sea markets amid global weakness.

The West Coast deal, done late in the week ended April 11, follows two earlier cargoes to Bangladesh, where shredded scrap is now priced near parity with local pig and sponge iron.
The latest West Coast cargo to emerge, which was heard on April 17, was reportedly sold at $370–375 per tonne CFR for heavy melting scrap No1 and No2 (80:20 mix) to a mill in Bangladesh late in the week ended April 11, whentwo other cargoes were sold by a separate shipperat $370 per tonne CFR for HMS 1&2 (80:20) and $375 per tonne CFR for shredded scrap.
A fourth West Coast cargo was rumored to have been sold but remained unconfirmed at the time of publication.
Meanwhile, an atypical cargo sale from the US East Coast to Greece was reported by market sources. Specific details of the sale were unavailable at the time of publication, but the sale reflects a shift in traditional trade flows amid continued weakness in global export markets.
Turkish ferrous scrap import prices have declined sharply over the past month due to ongoing softness in Turkey’s domestic rebar market and most mills reduced rebar offers again this week, in part responding to asurprise central bank interest rate hike, sources said.
Turkish mills in the Marmara region were heard to have reduced rebar offers to approximately $550 per tonne ex-works on April 17, a decline from $560-570 per tonne on Wednesday April 16, while mills in Izmir and Iskenderun regions were heard to have decreased offers by $5-10 per tonne on Thursday.
Sources attributed the bearish sentiment to continued tariff uncertainty, weak demand and elevated Turkish deposit rates, which are prompting mills to aggressively cut input costs.
Fastmarkets’ daily index forsteel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, CFR Turkey was calculated at $338.78 per tonne on Thursday, up slightly day on day but still down by nearly 10% from early April following sharp losses during the week ended April 11.
European exporters are facing mounting challenges as the euro’s appreciation continues to erode margins. Despite the European Central Bank’s (ECB) recent decision to cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.25% — its seventh reduction in the past year — the euro has strengthened approximately 9% on a trade-weighted basis.
The currency’s gains are largely driven by capital inflows seeking safe-haven assets amid rising global trade tensions, particularly related to US tariffs. The stronger euro has made European goods more expensive abroad and is putting additional downward pressure on inflation, complicating the ECB’s efforts to stimulate economic growth.