The Week in One Page — Week of 21 June 2026
Bottom Line
Scrap prices into Turkey kept falling this week and look likely to slip a little more next week. Hold off on buying — wait for prices to settle before you commit any cargoes.
5 Things You Need to Know
- Scrap into Turkey kept dropping. The main grade is about $393 per tonne, and no buyer has paid over $400 yet.
- Saudi Arabia flipped from a strong buyer to a weak one. A big mill cut its prices, removing support that had been propping up Pakistan.
- Iron ore — the raw material that competes with scrap — bounced near $100 per tonne, but the bounce was just holiday stockpiling, not real demand.
- Bangladesh scrap cracked, falling about $12 per tonne, as Asian buyers pulled back during summer power cuts.
- No new deals were signed this week. All your contracts and purchase orders are already up to date.
Top 3 Actions This Week
- Price Turkey-bound cargoes at $389–393 per tonne. WHEN: this week. WHY: all four price reporters now agree the drop is real, and the next deal will likely be even lower.
- Stop holding Pakistan offers high — drop toward $410 per tonne. WHEN: now. WHY: the Saudi buying support that justified higher prices has reversed.
- Keep US West Coast and Canada scrap for home or Turkey sales, not cheap Asian sales. WHEN: near-term. WHY: India and Bangladesh are paying too little to be worth the long shipping.
Why Prices Moved (and Other Changes)
Turkish steelmakers have very weak demand for finished steel, so they need less scrap. A possible US–Iran peace deal also made buyers wait, because they expect cheaper energy and shipping to push prices lower. That same easing of tension removed a shipping-cost boost that had been holding up iron ore, so it round-tripped near $100. In Saudi Arabia, new mill capacity and a cash squeeze pushed mills to cut prices instead of raise them. That cut removed the support that had kept Pakistan unusually firm.
What to Watch Next Week
- The first US scrap deal into Turkey below $400 per tonne — it will set the new floor.
- Whether the US–Iran peace deal is signed — it would likely push scrap and shipping costs lower.
- Whether iron ore falls back below $100 per tonne again, which would drag the wider market down.
Plain-English Glossary
- Scrap — recycled steel (old cars, rails, demolition metal) melted down to make new steel.
- HMS 80:20 — Heavy Melting Scrap, an 80%/20% mix of two grades; the most common bulk scrap traded.
- Iron ore — the mined raw material used to make steel the other way, instead of scrap.
- Per tonne — the price for one metric tonne (1,000 kg) of material.
- Floor — the lowest price the market is currently willing to hold.