The weekly Davis Index for imported Honey brass settled at Rs302,000 del Delhi consumer, down by Rs3,000/mt ($42.11/mt) from a week ago. Domestic demand for scrap from brass billet producers weakened as exports to China-based mills were disruptedamid the Coronavirus outbreak.
Indian traders curtailed new scrap booking as they face liquidity crunch caused by trade disruption as well as low domestic demand for brass finished products in North India. The index for domestic origin brass scrap or Purja settled at Rs290,000/mt del Delhi consumer, down by Rs2,000/mt from the prior week.
The Davis Index for imported Honey settled at Rs291,000/mt del Jamnagar consumer, down by Rs4,000/mt in line with the three-month official LME copper contract dropping by $80/mt to$5,666/mt from a week ago. The three-month official LME Zinc contract dropped by $42/mt to$2,212/mt from a week ago.
In the wake of travel restriction and shut down of businesses in China, Indian manufacturers and their Chinese counterparts are negotiating deals from home. Manufacturers in Jamnagar have confirmed that export orders for China are being shipped as scheduled.
Indian producers have export orders booked till April. Chinese export orders of brass billets and ingots are likely to resume from February 17 as mills reopen post the virus scare. Brass producers expect the situation to normalise by mid-February.
Scrap trades fell by 40pc from the prior week as brass ingot and billet makers delayed buying amid sluggish demand from downstream industries. Containers carrying imported brass scrap lined up at Mundra port as market participants faced liquidity crunch and unable to clear the shipments. This is a temporary standoff and the situation will ease as export orders to China resume, said manufacturers.
The index for domestic-origin brass scrap or Vilayati settled at Rs280,000/mt del Jamnagar consumer, down by Rs5,000/mt, on weak domestic demand from electric components and sanitaryware sectors.
($1=71.23)