Bangladeshi ferrous scrap importers were largely away from the market on Friday amid lowering demand and rising offers from suppliers.
In the bulk market, small bulk cargo from Japan comprising of 10,000mt of busheling traded at $285-287/mt cfr Chattogram. Japanese bulk scrap prices then started their uptrend driven by higher bids at the monthly Kanto tender, compared to the export prices early this week.
Offers from the US West Coast yards for HMS 1&2 (80:20) were in the range $270-275/mt cfr Chattogram. But bulk ferrous scrap buyers are likely to wait until global prices fall.
The Davis Index for containerised shredded, Friday, settled at $292/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $7/mt from Thursday and by $9/mt from the prior week. Davis Index heard offers for containerised shredded at $290-293/mt cfr Chattogram from US, Australia, UK and European suppliers. A few trades for Brazil and New Zealand- origin shredded scrap were at $277-282/mt cfr Chattogram.
Indian sponge iron exports to Bangladesh have resumed by road. Indian suppliers sold 5,000mt sponge iron to Bangladeshi steelmakers at $255/mt cfr Chattogram this week.
Major steelmakers including BSRM, AKS, and KSRM ramped up production to 60-80pc capacity and are expected to book more scrap in the coming days if the domestic steel demand shows signs of recovery.
The daily index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $275/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $5/mt from Thursday with a few trades at $270-275/mt cfr Chattogram.
The daily Davis Index for Latin American HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $265/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $5/mt from Thursday and by $17/mt from prior Friday. Offers for #1 HMS from Brazil and Chile were at $270-275/mt cfr Chattogram with buyers’ expectations still around $265/mt cfr Chattogram. South American traders expected better prices in their domestic market prices and thus increased their offers.
The Davis Index for busheling settled at $305/mt cfr Chattogram, unchanged from the day prior, in absence of trades. P&S from South America and Australia was offered at $290-298/mt cfr Chattogram with the weekly index at $293/mt cfr, up by $5/mt.
The Davis Index for Australian HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $276/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $6/mt from the prior week. Trades were reported at the index price. Scrap grade #1 HMS from Australia and Singapore traded at $275-277/mt cfr Chattogram.
Finished and semi-finished steel
The weekly index for domestic billet settled at BDT39,750/mt ($467/mt) ex-works Chattogram, down by BDT750/mt from the prior week. Prices dropped amid slow demand due to the monsoon lull. Many suppliers offered discounts to liquidate inventories.
The weekly Davis Index for rebar from large steelmakers settled at BDT56,000/mt ex-producer, down by BDT500/mt. Dhaka-based small-scale producers offered rebar at BDT50,000-51,000/mt ex-plant with up to a discount of BDT1,000/mt.
Domestic and shipbreaking scrap
Domestic ferrous scrap prices continued their downward trend due to oversupply and competitive sponge iron offers from India. The Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at BDT25,750/mt inclusive of local taxes ex-yard Chattogram, down by BDT500/mt from the prior week. The Davis Index for shipbreaking scrap equivalent to P&S settled at BDT26,500/mt ex-yard, down by BDT500/mt from the prior week.
($1=BDT84.81)