US domestic scrap prices, which have been edging upwards since the beginning of the year, are unlikely to record further improvement in April trading, with most market participants finding a sideways trend the best-case scenario.

Amid improved scrap supply due to milder weather conditions and a standstill in US hot rolled coil demand given the uncertain tariff outlook, the US scrap market is preparing for soft to sideways trading. The US Southeast seems to be under stronger pressure compared to the Midwest as supply there eased faster amid tariffs and weather conditions, as well as bearish sentiment in major export destination Türkiye.

Some US mills are seen to have already dropped scrap bids, notes Kallanish.

On the East Coast (USEC), Turkish mills’ demand for scrap remained lacking on Monday amid the political turmoil in the country. This started with the detention of İstanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on 19 March and worsened with his arrest on 23 March. Both political and economic instability in Türkiye have brought steel sales and scrap demand to a halt.

The latest US-origin deal was confirmed in the first half of last week at $381/tonne cfr Türkiye for HMS 1&2 80:20, while fresh offers are at $383-385/t cfr for the same grade. However, amid the current uncertainty and blurred outlook, no mills are expected to pay these values for scrap.

Meanwhile, an uptick of around $2-3/t has been observed in sea freight for bulk cargoes. Freight from USEC to Türkiye has approached $30/t.

For West Coast business, the market remained almost stable in Taiwan, with US-origin containerised HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap offers at around $320/t cfr Taiwan, while the indicative deal level stands at $317/t cfr. Weak sentiment in China has meanwhile resulted in competitive China-origin billet offers being quoted in Taiwan.