Italian ferrous scrap market saw a sharp trend reversal in late June, with scrap prices falling by €20 to €30 per metric ton (mt) due to worsening international markets and low downstream steel demand. The negative sentiment was mirrored globally, with Turkish scrap decreasing by $25-$30/mt and Spanish prices declining by €20/mt, pushing steelmakers to reduce purchasing and unloading activities. This steep price decline and high inventory accumulation signal a bearish outlook for European raw materials into July, as scheduled production stoppages and summer shutdowns in countries like Germany will further depress regional demand and overall scrap consumption volumes.

[SMM Cast Aluminum Alloy Morning Comment: Bears Add Positions, Aluminum Alloy Night Session Plunges, UAE Aluminum Scrap Export Ban Takes Effect] Overnight, aluminum alloy futures weakened sharply. The night session opened at 22,850 yuan/mt, closed at 22,720 yuan/mt, down 390 yuan/mt, or 1.69%.

The benchmark price for premium heavy melting scrap (HMS 1&2 80:20) exported from the United States east coast to the primary Turkish import hub suffered a steep correction, dropping by $14 per metric ton week-on-week to settle at $388 per ton CFR. Trading desks confirmed that the rapid price deterioration reflects a complete freeze in forward replacement bookings by Turkish electric arc furnace (EAF) mills. Facing heavily compressed domestic and export rebar rolling margins, Mediterranean producers are actively lowering structural melting utilization rates and rejecting high-priced international raw metal inputs.

As resource security and decarbonization become increasingly important, major economies are strengthening efforts to retain aluminum scrap. From the EU's review of export controls and the U.S. strategic asset proposal to Japan's circular economy initiatives and policies in the UAE and South Africa, these developments could reshape global scrap flows and affect secondary aluminum markets.

[SMM Steel] Japan exported 2.35 million mt of ferrous scrap in January-April 2026, down 9.9% year on year, while April exports fell 10.1% YoY to 667,678 mt. Vietnam remained the largest importer of Japanese scrap during the period, importing 1.02 million mt, down 10.1% YoY. Bangladesh imported 516,219 mt, up 22.3%, while South Korea imported 350,019 mt, down 17.9% YoY. Meanwhile, Japanese scrap exports to Thailand more than doubled to 173,869 mt during the four-month period.

Japan's Kobe Steel has announced plans to evaluate the installation of a new, large-scale scrap melting furnace at its flagship Kakogawa Works, aimed at accelerating its low-carbon transition. This project serves as a key initiative to meet its corporate climate target of reducing carbon emissions by 38% by 2030 (compared to 2013 levels). By combining this high-capacity scrap melting technology with existing blast furnace infrastructures, the mill expects to significantly increase its utilization rate of high-grade ferrous scrap, thereby reducing dependency on virgin hot metal and pig iron inputs.

【SMM Steel】Mining and trading giant Glencore is offering a deep-sea ferrous scrap cargo from the EU for June shipment to Turkey via a Baltic-based exporter. The Baltic exporter entered the Turkish market in 2023 but had previously focused on smaller Mediterranean cargoes of 8,000-10,000 tonnes, as Turkish shipments of ~20,000 tonnes require stronger financing and freight management. Glencore has also signed an agreement with Polish transshipment specialist Lebal at Gdansk Port to strengthen export logistics. Turkey imports 18-20 million tonnes of scrap annually as the world's largest ferrous scrap importer. With CBAM implementation and global decarbonisation accelerating, scrap is being repositioned from a secondary by-product into a strategic core metallics input.

[SMM Steel] US iron and steel scrap exports rose 62.7% MoM and 48.4% YoY to 1.38 million mt in March 2026, according to the US International Trade Commission. Turkey remained the largest buyer with 461,126 mt, up 77.7% from February. Other major destinations included Mexico with 262,586 mt, Peru with 114,406 mt, and Italy with 105,463 mt. Export value increased to US$669.24 million in March from US$426.75 million in February.

Leading US steel producers, including Nucor, Gerdau, and Optimus Steel, have announced a general price increase for rebar by $20 per short ton ($1.00 per cwt), effective immediately in May 2026. This move follows a period of price consolidation and is largely driven by rising raw material costs, particularly ferrous scrap, and sustained demand from domestic infrastructure projects. The hike brings the market price floor higher, signaling a shift toward a more hawkish pricing environment in the North American long products sector. If successfully absorbed by the market, this increase may prompt other regional mini-mills to follow suit, potentially raising construction costs across the US in the second quarter of 2026.

Kazakhstan has officially extended its ban on the export of ferrous scrap by rail and road for another six months. The measure is intended to ensure a stable supply of raw materials for domestic steel producers as they ramp up production to meet national infrastructure goals. Regional billet prices rose by $10–15 per ton following the announcement.