Steel mills in Bangladesh bought limited tonnages of imported ferrous scrap with buyers willing to pay higher than their Indian and Pakistani counterparts. The decline in China’s steel prices continued to weigh down sentiment in Asia. Turkish mills, too, could stay away from bulk purchases as most are stocked up for June and a majority of July requirements.
Market participants were hopeful of demand picking up on Monday on the expectation of lifting of the lockdown, but the Bangladeshi government extended it until May 30.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Tuesday, settled at $537.50/mt cfr Chattogram, down $3.21/mt. Amid firm offers from most suppliers, traders refused to lower asking rates of $545-550/mt cfr Chattogram.
In the bulk market, offers for mixed bulk cargoes at around $560-565/mt cfr Chattogram, but most buyers stayed away as domestic steel prices are under pressure due to weak demand from end-users. Most traders expect activity to pick up from mid-June. For most of May, mills have stayed away from bulk purchases.
In the ship-breaking market, Bangladeshi yards were offered decade’s high prices. Offers for containers were at $560-570/ldt cnf Chattogram. High offers are likely to limit trade and continue to reduce domestic scrap supply in the near term.
The daily index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Latin America settled unchanged at $503/mt cfr Chattogram. Late last week, trades for the grade were reported at $500-505/mt cfr Chattogram. Seller yards were still targeting above $510-515/mt cfr Chattogram for HMS 1&2 (90:10) on Tuesday refusing lower bids.
The index for US-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $513.75/mt, down by $1.25/mt. While the indexes for the grade of UK and Australia-origin fell by $1/mt to $507/mt and $512/mt cfr Chattogram, respectively.
Steel demand in the local market remained non-attractive for mills to resume restocking. After price hikes, rebar and billet prices remained elevated. Domestic scrap supply remains tight.
($1=BDT84.8)