Steel Mills Trim their Scrap Purchase Prices in Germany in May

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): As expected, ferrous scrap prices on the German market fell considerably in May. Local steel mills took advantage of the price collapse in the export business in the second half of April and called for hefty price cuts. The customers had not shown much willingness to negotiate and had been prepared to forgo volumes rather than make concessions, recyclers and traders told EUWID during the monthly survey.

However, respondents believe the trough has now been reached and they expect prices in June will likely remain unchanged or rise slightly. As usual, this will depend largely on the export price trend, which recently has been pointing upwards again.

The roller coaster ride taken by export prices in recent weeks – a result of US President Donald Trump's chaotic tariff strategy by– had really rocked the scrap market, traders complain. Scrap prices had fallen faster than players could sell, so some recyclers were left with high-cost inventories on their books.

Simultaneously, scrap inflows have tapered off dramatically since prices declined. Collection volumes are down, and volumes are also being held back in anticipation of a price rebound in June. This is particularly problematic for operators of shredders and shears, whose margins have come under significant pressure due to the battle for input material.

 Courtesy: www.euwid-recycling.com