Bangladeshi mills were largely away from booking imported ferrous scrap, with the government announcing stringent restrictions to curb the spread of the delta variant of COVID-19. On Friday, activities were suspended. Friday also usually marks a slow day. On weak sales, mills were unable to hike domestic steel prices. Rising raw material prices, on the other hand, pressured margins. Monsoon seasonal slowdown also kept small mills out of the market.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded settled unchanged at $551.25/mt cfr Chattogram on Friday. The index rose by $2/mt from last Friday. Trades were very limited as bids continued to stay below sellers’ expectations at $535-545/mt cfr against firm offers for EU/UK origin-shredded above $550-555/mt cfr Chattogram. Sellers kept their asking prices higher by $20/mt at the minimum in Bangladesh compared to Pakistan, to accommodate the freight variation between the two countries.
A Japanese small bulk cargo trade was heard this week after three bulk purchases deals last week.
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Latin America, Friday, was unchanged at $518/mt cfr Chattogram. Deals for HMS 1&2 (80:20) concluded at $515-518/mt cfr Chattogram. The index registered an uptick of $1/mt from the prior Friday. On Friday, the daily index for US-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled unchanged at $530/mt cfr Chattogram. The index rose by $3.75/mt from a week ago.
Dubai-origin HMS #1 and P&S traded at $540/mt cfr Chattogram. The daily indexes for UK-origin and Australia-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) were unchanged at $520/mt and $527/mt cfr Chattogram, respectively. These indexes have remained were unchanged from a week ago too.
The market was silent for prime grades this week. The spread between HMS and industrial-grade scrap has widened to above $60-80/mt. The weekly indexes for P&S and #1 busheling were unchanged at $560/mt and $584/mt cfr Chattogram, respectively.
Due to weak finished steel sales amid national lockdown, most mills either postponed purchases or kept bids very low. Most sellers were unwilling to match these bids on supply tightness.
Domestic market muted on weak sales
The domestic availability of ferrous scrap was tight in Bangladesh. The weekly index for ship scrap equivalent to P&S settled at BDT49,500/mt ($584/mt) ex-yards, unchanged. The weekly index for domestic HMS 1&2 (80:20) too was flat at BDT46,250/mt ex-yards Chattogram on Friday.
The weekly index for billet was unchanged at BDT59,500/mt ex-works. Prices have been largely flat for a month with a variation of BDT500/mt.
For shipbreakers, offers of scrapped vessels declined by $10/mt to $550-560/mt cnf, depending on the type. But yards kept prices for scrap and plates lifted on higher cutting costs. Ship demolition rates have dropped drastically since the beginning of monsoon season, adding to the domestic shortage. Shipbreaking plates’ offers for 16mm rose to BDT55,000/mt ex-yards on Friday, up by BDT1,500/mt from a week prior.
The weekly index for rebar from large-scale mills settled unchanged at BDT71,500/mt, ex-works. The weekly Davis Index for rebar by medium-scale was unchanged at BDT66,500/mt, while for small-scale steelmakers, it dropped by BDT250/mt to BDT61,250/mt ex-works.
($1=BDT84.8)