Metals & Mining Theme, Ferrous, Non-Ferrous
May 23, 2025
LME scrap volumes increase on week; futures contracts in backwardation
By Semra Ugur
HIGHLIGHTS
Scrap spot prices continue to hold rangebound
Weekly trading volumes for scrap increase
Volumes traded for the scrap futures contracts on the London Metal Exchange, which settle on the basis of the Platts assessment from S&P Global Energy, increased on the week.
Weekly LME scrap futures trading volumes in the week to May 22 increased to 244,560 mt, up from 166,220 mt in the week to May 15.
Platts assessed spot prices for physical Turkish imports of premium heavy melting scrap 1/2 (80:20) at $346.50/mt CFR May 22, slightly down by 50 cents/mt on the week from May 15, as prices continued to hold rangebound with the sellside remaining firm and limited restocking demand.
| Contract month | Platts assessed LME scrap forward curve May 15 ($/mt) | Platts assessed LME scrap forward curve May 22 ($/mt) | Week on week change ($/mt) |
| May | 343.5 | 341.5 | -2.00 |
| June | 347 | 341 | -6.00 |
| July | 348 | 336 | -12.00 |
| August | 351 | 338.75 | -12.25 |
The May-July portion of the forward curve for Turkey scrap futures on the LME followed a backwardation structure, before entering a contango structure for August, indicating that futures traders expect Turkish scrap prices in the physical market to recover in the medium term.
Platts is part of S&P Global Energy.
Editor: