LME scrap, rebar volumes up on week; futures in contango

Weekly scrap futures trading volumes on the London Metal Exchange increased in the week to Jan. 23.

The volumes traded rose to 270,770 mt from 144,210 mt in the week to Jan. 16 as market participants attempted to navigate the bullish start to the week.

Platts assessed spot prices for physical imports of premium heavy melting scrap 1/2 (80:20) at $340/mt CFR on Jan. 23, up $7.50/mt from $332.50/mt on Jan. 16, as the market remains cautiously bullish and recyclers hold firm to higher target prices, S&P Global Commodity Insights data showed.

The January-April portion of the forward curve for Turkey scrap futures on the LME maintained a contango structure, showing that futures traders expect Turkish scrap prices in the physical market to recover in the medium term.

Rebar futures volumes up

Rebar futures volumes traded on the LME increased in the week to Jan. 23, rising to 7,000 mt from 2,770 mt in the week to Jan. 16.

Platts assessed Turkish exported rebar at $552.50/mt FOB on Jan. 23, unchanged week over week, amid ongoing weak demand while Turkish mills targeted higher due to rising imported scrap prices, Commodity Insights data showed.

The January-April portion of the forward curve for Turkey rebar futures on the LME maintained a sharp contango structure, suggesting that futures traders expect Turkish rebar prices in the physical market to follow an uptrend in the near term.