US West Coast ferrous scrap dock prices ticked up on significant increases in Los Angeles dock prices on Tuesday.
Higher global scrap prices energized the positive movements along the US West Coast. Turkey has been actively importing scrap at higher prices and buying activity from Asian markets has risen over the past few weeks. Competing scrap sources such as EU, Russia, and Australia continued a slight uptick this week, although, some sources believe that scrap import prices for Turkey and Asian bulk may have hit the top range given limited steel demand in many Asian domestic markets.
Japanese export scrap offers also continued strong, thereby, supporting US scrap export prices. Although the situation is not clear, August tenders are expected to provide more information on potential movements. Some Japanese steel mills did not raise domestic scrap buying prices or did so only for some mill sites, but not all. Some Asian domestic scrap markets are also reportedly flat this week.
The weekly Davis Indexes in Portland increased again after the larger leap last week. The HMS 1&2 (80:20) index rose by $3/gt to $205/gt delivered dockside, while P&S 5ft increased by $8/gt to $220/gt delivered. The index for shredder feed inched up by $1/gt to $155/gt delivered.
The weekly Davis Indexes in San Francisco increased robustly last week but has encountered a small correction on Tuesday on concern that export may have reached its immediate high point, which resulted in dock buying prices on some deliveries ticking down. The index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) decreased by $3/gt to $207/gt delivered dockside, P&S 5ft fell by $4/gt to $209/gt delivered, and shredder feed declined by $3/gt to $140/gt delivered. The sentiment for export activity continues in the region with one scrap seller noting a slightly higher interest in volumes by docks, possibly to fulfill commitments from previous deals.
In Los Angeles, the weekly Davis Indexes finally increased. The index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose by $23/gt to $185/gt delivered while P&S 5ft increased by $28/gt to $203/gt delivered. The shredder feed index went up by $22/gt to $146/gt delivered. As expected last week, the momentum from the northern ports pushed prices up at LA docks this week.
The containerized market on the West Coast flattened this week after increasing for four consecutive weeks. In Los Angeles, containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) continue at $235-240/mt fas.