Melting Scrap Prices & Exchanges — World Guide

Melting Scrap Prices & Exchanges — World Guide

Melting scrap has no exchange price of its own. Every scrap price in the world is a formula: the underlying metal price on an exchange, minus a discount for grade, recovery, moisture and freight. This page lists the exchanges and price services the trade actually uses, region by region.

How the formula works, metal by metal

Steel scrap follows the Turkish HMS 80:20 import benchmark (CFR Turkey), the US Midwest busheling/shred prices, and the CME/LME steel-scrap contracts. Turkey is the world's largest scrap importer, so the CFR Turkey price is the reference for the Atlantic and Mediterranean trade; Taiwan and Vietnam CFR prices anchor the Pacific trade.

Copper scrap is priced as a percentage of the LME or COMEX copper price — bare bright at the highest recovery, Birch/Cliff below it, and mixed or insulated grades well below. China's SHFE and SMM set the domestic Chinese price, which drives Asian demand.

Aluminium scrap is priced against LME aluminium with grade-specific discounts (Taint/Tabor, Tense, Zorba, UBC). Zinc, brass and stainless follow LME zinc, LME copper/zinc and LME nickel respectively.

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Which reference to use, by region

China & East Asia: SHFE, SMM, plus LME for import parity. North America: COMEX copper, CME busheling, Argus/Fastmarkets US scrap. Europe & Turkey: LME, Westmetall tracker, SteelOrbis CFR Turkey HMS. Gulf: DGCX and LME, with CFR Turkey/India for outbound ferrous. South Asia: MCX (India) and LME, with CFR Nhava Sheva / Chattogram HMS quotes. Latin America, Africa, Australia: LME and Trading Economics, with the nearest CFR benchmark.

Exchanges & price services — by region

Price today, metal by metal