Bangladeshi steel mills continued to book imported ferrous scrap, albeit only on a need basis. Mills focused on clearing their utility bills, per usual on the last day of the month, keeping activity slow. Traders now await clarity on the container freight rates for April.
Domestic steel prices are on a rise amid a resumption of infrastructural projects. Demand and prices for shipbreaking plates picked up, boosting sentiment for ferrous scrap imports.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Wednesday, settled at $462.50/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $1.25/mt. Offers were above $465-470/mt cfr Chattogram. Most sellers expect another round of freight rate hike by most shipping lines, effective April. A recent containerized deal for 2,500mt of mixed P&S and #1 HMS from Australia was reported at $449-450/mt cfr Chattogram.
UK-origin busheling and tin plates scrap in containers were offered at $485-495/mt cfr Chattogram as there is a possibility of a dip in the industrial generation of scrap due to plant shutdowns.
Following a rise in bulk offers for Turkish buyers, Japanese traders lifted asking prices for small bulk by $15-20/mt from late last week, and #2 HMS was offered above $455-465/mt cfr Chattogram. Shredded bulk was offered at $475-480/mt cfr Chattogram from the US west coast, up by $10-15/mt from the prior week amid additional delays at ports.
The daily index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Latin America settled at $443/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $1/mt from Tuesday. Few offers were heard at $450-455/mt cfr Chattogram. The indices for US, UK, and Australia-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $447.5/mt, $437/mt, and $447/mt cfr Chattogram amid rising expectations. Bookings for HMS 1&2 (80:20) were heard at $440/mt cfr Chattogram this week.
Domestic steel prices up on stable demand
Amid stable supply from shipbreaking operations, offers for ship scrap equivalent to P&S were BDT46,500-47,000/mt ex-works, up BDT2,000/mt from Friday. Domestic melting HMS 1&2 (80:20) was offered at BDT45,000/mt ex-yard Chattogram on Tuesday.
Domestic billet prices were at BDT57,000-57,500/mt ex-works Chattogram, up BDT1,500-2,000/mt from late last week. Southeast Asian billet offers were above $620-625/mt cfr amid high freight charges.
Indian Sponge iron export prices were reported at $385-390/mt cpt Benapole or $405-410/mt cfr Chattogram on increased domestic demand and consumption.
All large steelmakers kept asking rates for rebar in the range BDT68,500-69,000/mt ex-works post price hike announced last week. BSRM, AKS, GPH, and KSRM raised their asking rates for rebar to BDT70,500/mt, BDT68,000/mt, BDT68,500/mt, and BDT68,500/mt, respectively. These prices were up by a minimum of BDT1,500-2,000/mt from the prior week.
Rebar from medium-scale mills in Dhaka rose by BDT1500-2000/mt to BDT65,000-66,000/mt ex-works. Small-scale mills sold rebar in the range of BDT60,000-61,000/mt ex-works. On Wednesday, 16mm ship plate offers were unchanged at BDT55,500-56,000/mt ex-yards, after rising BDT2,500-3,000/mt from late last week.
For shipbreakers, imported scrapped vessels prices were at $490-500/ldt cfr Chattogram.
($1=BDT84.72)