Indian mills exhibited a limited interest in booking imported scrap ahead of the Diwali festival beginning Nov 14. Those who restocked scrap, did so on expectations of robust steel demand after the festival when construction activities are likely to gain momentum. Should the restocking continue, scrap prices could rise another $15-20/mt in the coming days. Impacting prices is also the likelihood of supply crunch exacerbating amid COVID-19-related lockdowns for the second time in some supplier countries.
In the long run, the Indian finance minister’s announcement of yet another fiscal stimulus package could spur steel demand. The declaration boosted the already positive market sentiment, as indicated by Rs800-1,000/mt rise in billet and rebar prices in the last two days.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded on Thursday settled at $335.56/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, unchanged from a day ago, but up by $6.06/mt from prior Friday. A few alloy makers bought shredded containers at $330-335/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Offers for the UK and EU-origin shredded were at $337-340/mt cfr Nhava Sheva on Thursday.
In Turkey, trades for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) concluded at $305-307/mt cfr Turkey. Sustained demand for rebar at firm prices helped steelmakers to increase its ferrous scrap purchases. Most suppliers focused on catering to the Turkish bulk market and thus diverted supplies from Asian markets.
Traders from the UAE raised HMS offers by $10-15/mt from last Friday. The Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $324/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $6/mt from the prior week. Offers for containerized #1 HMS without the cast and galvanized iron from Dubai were at prices above $330/mt cfr Nhava Sheva on Thursday. A few buyers sought HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $320/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
The Davis Index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $325/mt cfr Nhava Sheva on Thursday, up by $5.5/mt from prior Friday. Offers for the grade in containers were above $330/mt cfr Nhava Sheva amid short supply. Suppliers are offering bulk cargoes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $330/mt cfr Kandla, with buyers shying away from those levels. Bulk demand could recover for January shipments post the Diwali festival, driving prices up to $350/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
In the billet export market, prices were at $475/mt cfr China, for material from Russia and Indonesia. Indian billet makers targeted levels of $450-455/mt fob with no deals to report at those levels yet. Chinese producers offered domestic billets at CNY3580/mt ex-Tangshan, while rebar and HRC prices rose by $15-20/mt in a week.
A Vizag based stainless steelmaker bought busheling at $355/mt cfr Vizag early week. The index for the grade settled at $351/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $12/mt from the prior week. The weekly index for Turning scrap was at $293/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $5/mt from last week, with low to no bids. P&S scrap traded at $338-340/mt cfr Nhava Sheva in thin quantity, with the index for the grade rising by $8/mt from prior Friday.
Subcontinent
Limited container availability due to a mismatch between imports and exports has pushed freight prices up for a few routes in South Asia. The rise in freight and holidays for some shipping lines in India for Diwali pushed the subcontinental index up. The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Thursday, settled at $339.01/mt cfr India subcontinent, up by $0.32/mt from Wednesday. The Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $326.22/mt cfr India subcontinent, up by $3.49/mt from Wednesday.
($1=Rs74.63)