Ferrous scrap importers in India resumed inquiries as rebar demand is on the path of recovery. Trading, however, remained slow. Over 40-45pc of the secondary steel makers are still not operational at full capacity, with profit margin hit due to the monsoon lull.
Large-scale mills actively explored export opportunities with Chinese and Russian exporters away amid additional export tariff costs. Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, are under stringent COVID-related lockdowns. Indian ferrous scrap demand could stay strong amid improving production by large mills.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded on Monday settled unchanged at $533.75/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Offers for shredded from the UK/EU and the US were flat at $535-540/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, but buyers remained silent.
In Turkey, buying activities could increase this week. But weak demand for Turkish rebar in Southeast Asian countries could keep prices under pressure. Scrap import prices, therefore, were bearish.
The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose by $2/mt to $472/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Offers from UAE sellers remained firm, but Indian buyers were not interested in purchasing #1 HMS at prices above $480-485/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Some are even targeting a drop of $10-15/mt from the present offer levels. In a silent market, the Davis Index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was unchanged at $480/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
In Alang’s shipbreaking market, the transporters’ strikes continued. Tight scrap supply resulted in increased domestic scrap prices. In Mumbai, the asking rates for rebar rose by Rs400/mt to Rs49,500/mt ex-works from Friday. In Mandi Gobindgarh, ingot traded above Rs46,100/mt ex-works. Improving domestic fundamentals kept the demand outlook for imported scrap positive.
In China, iron ore futures were largely unchanged on Monday. Export offers for HRC dropped by $10-15/mt. On Friday, international iron ore Fe 62pc prices in the spot market were $180.1/mt cfr North China. Domestic billet prices dropped by CNY50/mt from Friday to CNY5,170/mt ex-Tangshan inclusive of VAT on Friday.
HRC futures were at CNY5,780/mt and rebar CNY5,415/mt on Monday. Offers for billets were above $715-720/mt cfr China, with no major buying interest.
Subcontinent
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded settled Friday at $538.50/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, down $0.79/mt, while the daily Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $493.38/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, up by $0.44/mt.
On the New York to South Asia route, normalized weekly container freight rates were unchanged at $84.4/mt, $51.59/mt, and $46.86/mt for shipments to Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India, respectively.
($1=Rs74.42; CNY6.51)