Scrap prices do not start in the yard. They start with the price of metal on international markets, and they move every trading day. This is how that chain works, and how it ends up as a rate per kilo on the scale.
Metal exchanges
Copper, aluminium, lead, zinc, nickel and tin are traded on exchanges, the best known being the London Metal Exchange (LME). The exchange price is for new, refined metal. Scrap buyers everywhere watch it, because scrap is priced as a share of that number: the cleaner the scrap, the closer it sits to the exchange price.
Price reporting agencies
Steel scrap and many other scrap grades are not traded on an exchange in the same way. Their prices are assessed by price reporting agencies. Argus is one of them, alongside S&P Global Platts and Fastmarkets. They collect deal information from buyers and sellers around the world and publish assessed prices for specific grades and delivery routes.
A widely followed example is heavy melting steel (HMS 1&2) delivered to Turkey, which is one of the largest importers of steel scrap in the world. When that price moves, scrap steel prices across the Gulf tend to follow.
Most of these assessments are sold by subscription to the trade, which is why you rarely see them published in full online.
From the world price to your rate
The UAE dirham is pegged to the US dollar, so a move in dollar metal prices shows up in dirham prices almost directly. From there, a local rate reflects:
- The grade, and how clean the material is
- The cost of sorting, cutting, baling and stripping
- Transport to a smelter, a mill or an export port
- How much of that grade is moving in the market that week
Why we quote for the day
Copper and aluminium can move noticeably within a week, in either direction. A rate agreed today may not hold next week. That is why we give the rate for the day you sell, and why it is worth calling before you load up.
Getting today's rate
Call or WhatsApp +971 52 727 0105 with the metal and a rough weight, or bring it to the yard at Musaffah M42. The grades we buy are on the metal scrap page.
Common questions
What is the LME?
The London Metal Exchange, where copper, aluminium and other base metals are traded. Its prices are for new refined metal, and scrap prices around the world are set as a share of them.
What does Argus do for scrap metal prices?
Argus is a price reporting agency. It gathers trade data and publishes assessed prices for scrap grades such as heavy melting steel, which buyers and sellers use as a benchmark.
Why is my local scrap rate lower than the LME price?
The LME price is for pure, refined metal. Scrap has to be sorted, processed, transported and melted first, and those costs come out of the price.
