Mills to maintain scrap prices during seasonal shortage

摘要

By November 20, the average market price for A3 scrap dropped by 9%in the European part of Russia and by 10% in the Ural region. A seasonal decline in scrap collection in December (by an average of20% from the previous month) will lead to a price stabilization, as consumerswill abandon further cuts fearing the situation will worsen. Thetrend will gather pace in January – scrap collection will drop by 40%amid long holidays and adverse weather conditions. Steel mills will beable to avoid a shortage and price increases thanks to reserves. Supplywill somewhat improve in February (up by 25?30%), but many consumerswill still be facing shortage. As a result, steelmakers will have to jointhe price rally as inventories decrease while competition over volumesgets tougher.