Bangladeshi mills slowed ferrous scrap container bookings as the country went under strict nationwide lockdown for seven days starting June 28. A surge in the Delta variant of the COVID-19 in Bangladesh and few states in India has quietened the two subcontinental markets.
Stringent restrictions have been imposed on the movement of people and the transport of goods, except for the emergency services. Hampered transportation activities, reduced banking hours, and laborers rushing to their hometowns could negatively impact steel and raw material trading.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded was at $550/mt cfr Chattogram on Monday, up by $0.75/mt. Offers for EU/UK origin-shredded were only above $550/mt cfr Chattogram against bids of $540-545/mt cfr Chattogram.
After three bulk cargo purchases from the US West Coast heard last week, another mix cargo of around 26,000mt from Australia reportedly sold at prices equivalent to $535-540/mt cfr. These price levels were similar to US-origin material.
On Friday, following global cues, asking prices increased and slowed trading. Steel demand in the Bangladesh domestic market remained affected due to the monsoon, along with the lockdown. Ahead of the financial year close, mills focused on closing their books.
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Latin America, Monday, was unchanged at $517/mt cfr Chattogram from Friday. Elevated freight rates and a global shortage of containers have kept landed costs for containerized scrap high. In a silent market, the daily indexes for US-origin, UK, and Australia-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled unchanged at $526.25/mt, $520/mt, and $527/mt cfr Chattogram, respectively.
In the domestic market, the availability of domestic scrap was tight. Ship scrap equivalent to P&S traded at BDT49,500-50,000/mt ex-yards, up by BDT500/mt. For shipbreakers, offers for scrapped vessels were at $550-560/mt cnf, depending on the type. But recyclers in Bangladesh kept their bids lower than their Pakistani counterparts. Yards decided to wait for prices to cool off amid weak demand and seasonal slowness.
On high input costs, offers for rebar and billet remained firm with only a few deals.
($1=BDT84.8)