The Week in One Page — Week of 29 August 2026
Bottom Line
Turkish mills raised the price of finished steel sharply this week, but the scrap they melt did not move. That gap favours the buyer, so hold your price and do not pay more just because steel got dearer.
5 Things You Need to Know
- Steel bar leaving Turkey jumped to $590 to $600 per tonne, up about $23. The scrap used to make it stayed flat.
- Two price reporting agencies disagreed on Turkish scrap. One marked it up, the other marked it down.
- Scrap into Pakistan sits at $413.63 per tonne. That figure is from 25 August and has not been updated since.
- Scrap into India reached $392.75 per tonne, above Turkey at $388.73. India now pays more despite being further away.
- A shipping surcharge into Pakistan starts 31 August. It may not apply to spot bookings, which is worth checking.
Top 3 Actions This Week
- Ask your shipping line if the new surcharge applies to spot bookings. WHEN: before Monday 31 August. PRICE: worth $36 to $40 per tonne. WHY: one written reply could remove a large cost from every container.
- Get September shipping costs in writing, port by port, before agreeing any September scrap price. WHEN: before you commit. PRICE: the expected rise is $14 to $20 per tonne. WHY: shipping now moves more money than the price you are haggling over.
- Do not pay more for scrap just because Turkish steel rose. WHEN: all week. PRICE: hold near $388 to $392 per tonne into Turkey. WHY: the mills earned more, but their own costs did not go up.
Why Prices Moved (and Other Changes)
Turkish mills raised steel prices for reasons of their own. Their currency moved, they expect higher energy bills, and they are booking export orders before new European quotas start on 1 October. Scrap did not follow, because European sellers have not sold above $380 per tonne all month. In Pakistan, buyers refused a known shipping increase four days running, so that cost stays with the seller. Separately, a United States rule on battery and tungsten scrap got stricter.
What to Watch Next Week
- Does the Pakistan scrap price update on Friday 4 September? It has been frozen since 25 August, so the next print carries extra weight.
- Does India keep paying more than Turkey? That flipped this week, and it changes where European scrap gets sent.
- Does the 31 August surcharge stick, and do spot bookings escape it? That answer is worth more than this week’s price move.
Plain-English Glossary
- Scrap — old steel collected and sorted, then melted down to make new steel.
- Per tonne — the price for 1,000 kilograms of material.
- Spot booking — a shipment booked at today’s rate rather than under a longer contract.
- Price reporting agency — a company that surveys the market and publishes reference prices.
- Surcharge — an extra fee a shipping line adds on top of the base freight rate.
More detail: Watchlist Priorities