Imported ferrous scrap offers in India continued to trend up. Most mills have their eyes set on transactions in Turkey for March shipment for a clarity in the global price direction. Bids continued to lag by $15-20/mt from offer prices. Ferrous scrap demand could improve aided by a recovery in the auto sector. HRC prices have reached a record high of Rs58,000/mt ex-works Mumbai, from Rs37,500/mt a year ago.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Friday, settled at $490.63/mt cfr Nhava Sheva up by $8.13/mt from Friday. Buyers were unwilling to book large volumes. Excluding alloy makers, all other buyers preferred HMS over premium grades. Bids by Indian buyers for shredded were at $475-485/mt cfr Mundra. But mills in Pakistan have started to accept $500-505/mt cfr Port Qasim levels, which could impact offers in the Indian market.
The gap between HMS and shredded scrap has widened to over $35-40/mt from the usual $15-20/mt on a shortage of high grades. Indian mills could opt for alternatives like sponge iron, domestic scrap or pig iron, prices for which are lower than imported scrap by Rs2,000/mt at the minimum.
Dubai sellers accepted only a few bids which they believed were workable. Amid limited trading, the Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Monday, was at $445/cfr Nhava Sheva,up by $5/mt from Friday . Some suppliers offered #1 HMS at $450-455/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, but bids were not over $435-440/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
Mills bought HMS from West Africa at $400-410/mt cfr Goa, Nhava Sheva while trades for Australian HMS 1&2 (80:20) were at $430-440/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
Indian ferrous scrap market was not in sync with the international markets. Domestic ferrous scrap availability has eased and traders are able to cater to the present demand level. Thus, Indian buyers were unwilling to raise bids, discouraging most sellers.
On Monday, Q235 150mm square billets prices in China were unchanged from Friday at CNY3,810/mt ex-works Tangshan including the 13pc VAT. The impact of lockdown in the Hebei province, China’s largest steelmaking hub remains to be seen in the coming days. Driven by cold weather, Chinese steel futures dropped, indicating market sentiment could turn negative in the coming days.
Subcontinent
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Monday, settled at $490.02/mt cfr India subcontinent, up by $4.97/mt from Friday. The index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $450.89/mt cfr India subcontinent, up by $0.85/mt.
Most suppliers have resumed negotiations after returning from the new year holidays last week. But US recyclers continued to focus on the domestic market where prices are firm. The also withheld material waiting for bulk prices to rise in the coming days. International freight rates have increased by $10/mt at the minimum on all South Asian routes due to persisting container shortage.