Imported scrap trades in Bangladesh picked-up pace as mills were left with no option but to procure at high prices due to depleting ferrous scrap inventories and ramped-up productions. Domestic steel prices also remained firm, driven by high raw material prices. Domestic scrap supply remained tight as very few vessels beached in December. Buyers are waiting for all recyclers to resume work and active buying is expected, traders noted.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Thursday, rose $10.58/mt to settle at $493.44/mt cfr Chattogram. Indications for containerized shredded from the UK and US yards were $495-500/mt cfr Chattogram on Thursday with mills bidding at $485-490/mt cfr. However, availability remains a concern with yards running short of material.
Paying above $500/mt cfr mark is challenging for all steel mills, but they are forced to procure to keep operations going. Mills missed the chance to purchase in late-November and early-December, when offers were considerably low.
The daily Davis Index for containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) of the US-origin rose by $3.57/mt to settle at $475.71/mt cfr Chattogram.
The Davis Index for containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Latin America settled at $473/mt cfr Chattogram, up $3/mt from the prior day. A deal was reported for 1000mt of Latin American HMS 1&2 (80:20) which traded at $470/mt cfr Chattogram on Thursday. Offers for HMS #1 from Chile were heard at prices around $475-480/mt cfr Chattogram.
Australian HMS 1&2 (90:10) in containers were offered at $475/mt cfr Chattogram. Against offers of the UK-origin HMS 1&2 80:20 at $480/mt cfr, bids lagged at $470-475/mt cfr Chattogram on Thursday.
In the bulk market, resumption of Chinese trades kept Japanese and Australian mills away. With announcement of export duties, Russian mills target to sell more billets in export market by consuming more domestic scrap. Offers for HMS 1&2 (80:20) in bulk were at $510-515/mt cfr Chattogram while mills’ bids lagged compared to current offers.
Shipbreaking scrap equivalent to P&S was offered at BDT43,000-43,500/mt ex-yards. Domestic HMS 1&2 (80:20) was flat at BDT41,500-42,500/mt ex-yards Chattogram and shipbreaking plates traded at BDT48,000-48,500/mt ex-yards. For shipbreakers, offers rose to $460-480/ldt, but yards stayed away from bookings.
Yards witnessed strong demand for ship scrap, however, very limited scrapped vessels are being offered from Europe amid renewed COVID-19 lockdowns.
Billet prices in Bangladesh were heard at BDT53,500-54,000/mt ex-works Chattogram. Medium-scale mills in Dhaka held their offers for rebar at BDT62,000-63,000/mt ex-works. Trades gained momentum, pushing rebar offers from large mills to BDT66,000-67,000/mt ex-works on Wednesday.
($1= BDT84.78)