Bids for imported ferrous scrap in India declined following weakening steel prices in China. Steelmakers paused purchases expecting a further fall in prices. Offers, however, were firm on tight availability in the seller countries and container shortages. Steel demand in the domestic market is bearish due to the monsoon rains slowing the pace of construction. The decline in steel prices in China has also impacted steel export prices for mills.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Monday, dropped by $0.93/mt from Friday to settle at $530/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Offers were at $530/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, with deals for a limited volume of shredded in the range of $525-530/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
The Davis Index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $506.25/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $3.75/mt. Bullish indications in the domestic market for July kept expectations from sellers high.
In Chennai, deals for #1 HMS from the UAE were at $500-505/mt cfr. The index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) dropped by $3/mt to $486/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Bids were in the range of $480-485/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Mills were in search of lower-priced HMS and kept their bids at an equivalent of $465-470/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
In Alang, melting scrap prices on Monday rose by Rs300/mt to Rs37,500/mt ex-yards on tight supply and elevated scrapped vessel offers. In Mumbai, rebar prices declined by Rs600/mt from Friday on subdued demand. Rebar prices on Monday were at Rs46,500/mt ex-works. In Mandi Govindgarh, ingot prices were unchanged at Rs45,000/mt ex-works.
In China, domestic billet prices dropped on Monday by CNY60/mt from Friday to CNY4,900/mt ex-Tangshan inclusive of VAT. Steel futures also declined steel by 4-5pc on price control measures. Iron ore prices for ferrous content 62pc dropped below $210/mt cfr North China on Monday. Asian billet export prices declined by $10/mt to $690-695/mt cfr China.
Subcontinent
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Monday, settled at $525/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, up by $4.42/mt; while that for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $510.44/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, up by $3.13/mt.
Containerized freight rates from New York port were unchanged from a week ago at $44.66/mt to India, $50.49/mt to Pakistan, and $84.59/mt to Bangladesh, as updated on June 18 by Davis Index. The supply-demand imbalance for containers due to restrictions in Chinese ports caused the possibility of another round of hike for freights by major shipping lines.
($1=Rs74.12)