Bangladeshi steel mills aggressively inquired for ferrous scrap, intending to book material before offers rise any further. A persisting shortage of containers and resulting gains in freight rate has added on to the already bullish offers. Improving demand in the country could support trades. Suppliers, however, are largely away from the market.
The daily Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $382.5/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $2.5/mt. Trades for #1 HMS sheared from the UK concluded at $402/mt cfr Chattogram. A few containers of Australian HMS 1&2 (80:20) sold at $370-375/mt cfr Chattogram, at prices $5-7/mt above last week’s levels. Container imports from the US and UK have taken a hit due to the unavailability of space on vessels on the route.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Thursday, settled at $400.39/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $0.39/mt.
Offers for shredded scrap were very limited and in the range at $400-405/mt cfr Chattogram from Australia, Latin America and UK/EU suppliers on Thursday. But buyers were unwilling to negotiate. Blue steel was offered $410-415/mt cfr Chattogram from a leading indentor in Dhaka. P&S grade from the UK origin traded at $410-415/mt cfr Chattogram.
The daily index for Latin America-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $373/mt cfr Chattogram, unchanged from a day earlier in absence of major trades. Offers for the grade rose $5-7/mt above $375/mt cfr Chattogram. While Latin American mix HMS #1 and P&S offered in the range $380-385/mt cfr Chattogram.
Domestic markets in Latin America are bullish. Pig iron prices in Brazil showed a steep rise following record high iron ore and ferrous scrap prices.
Construction recovery lifts steel demand
Trades for domestic billets started picking up on the back of demand recovery. Steel mills were offering domestic billet at BDT48,000-48,500/mt ($566-572/mt) ex-works Chattogram.
Most large scale steelmakers have orders in hand for steel products and demand for ferrous scrap is likely to stay strong, said a steelmaker.
Domestic and shipbreaking scrap
Domestic shipbreaking scrap equivalent to P&S was up by BDT500-1,000/mt from last week to BDT37,500-38,000/mt ex-yards Chattogram. Offers for scrapped vessel imports are above $400/ldt, with delays in arrival, a seasonal issue. Early in the week, a deal for a 20,000mt vessel was heard to have concluded at $425/ldt, but recyclers believe offers may rise to $430-440/ldt, since the gap between melting and rolling scrap has narrowed from the usual $50/mt to $20-25/mt.
($1= BDT84.68)