Cold and snowy winter 2010 caused scrap collecting volumes reduction in the USA. That is why  the majority of local specialists believe that after the Feb. pause the prices will go up again and grow in March  at  $20-50 per ton. At that traders’ scrap stockpiles are rather limited; that is why, probably, there will be less excessive scrap in March than usually.

Some US companies have already increased export quotations for scrap, so that shredded scrap price for Far East countries was $400 per ton CFR. HMS № 1 is offered to Korea and Taiwan at $370-380 per ton CFR delivered in containers. The shortage of the US scrap in the region caused the increase of Japanese scrap prices, which grew to $50 per ton as compared to the before-holidays level, to $390 per ton CFR and more. At that the largest buyer, Chinese companies have not started the purchases yet.

At the same time Mediterranean scrap market is keeping still. Turkish companies do not need big  quantities of scrap and prefer to conclude the contracts for  small volumes from North Africa and Lebanon at  $310-325 per ton CFR or European HMS № 1&2 (70:30) at $320-330 per ton CFR. Russian A3 is quoted at $340 per ton CFR; however, there is no demand for it from Turkish companies yet.