Johnson: Turkish steel scrap takes a spotlight

The average recycling company has a number of commodity price risks that can easily be hedged – copper, aluminum, various other base and precious metals have liquid and decades-long histories of substantial derivatives trade that make hedging a common part of the day-to-day business of dealing in these metals.

Now with iron ore and various finished steel products becoming substantially more important as futures markets, it’s not surprising to see the LME’s contract for Turkish steel scrap taking a prominent role for recyclers in a fashion similar to LME aluminum or copper.