Imported ferrous scrap trading in India remained sluggish amid a wide disparity between offers and buying interest. Mills are expected to resume trades as domestic alternatives like scrap and Sponge iron are short in supply. Most buyers opted to purchase HMS from Dubai, East Africa, and Australia.
A few suppliers want to sell their inventories before prices drop further. But mills believe there is room for prices to drop $10-15/mt. Prices could recover next week with rising demand amid bullish domestic fundamentals, claim traders.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded settled at $433.75/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, down by $8.75/mt. Prices dropped by $28.75/mt from the prior week. Offers for shredded were in the range of $440-450/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, but bids dropped following global cues. Most mills stayed away from negotiations as they await clarity in price direction.
In Turkey, the silence extended since many mills have pre-booked material. Negotiations for HMS 1&2 (80:20) in bulk were reported around $437-440/mt cfr Turkey. Offers in the subcontinent thus have dropped.
The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Friday, settled at $399/cfr Nhava Sheva, down by $4/mt. From a week ago, the index dropped by $21/mt. Buying interest was at $390-395//mt for the grade and most furnaces in North and West India continued to resist present offer levels and opted for domestic supplies. On Thursday, a few offers for Dubai-origin HMS #1 and P&S were at $410-415/mt cfr Nhava Sheva with bids falling to $400-405/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
The daily index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Friday, was at $415/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, down by $5/mt. Offers for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from the UK and Australia were at $425-435/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
Turning scrap was offered at $385-390/mt cfr Nhava Sheva with buying interest at $375-380/mt Nhava Sheva. Offers for West African HMS for 20-21mt loading with CI-GI were above $375-380/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
Trading for containerized P&S and #1 busheling remained halted. With a decline in shredded scrap offers, the index for P&S and #1 busheling settled at $446/mt and $459/mt, down by $21/mt from a week ago.
With construction activities picking up, rebar demand has been strong in the country. Shipbreaking melting scrap prices in Alang, Friday, inched up by Rs100-200/mt to Rs31,300-31,400/mt ex-Alang. Ingot prices were reported at Rs40,300-40,500/mt ex-Mandi, keeping sentiment for scrap bullish. Indian mills are expected to resume trades for imported scrap actively in late March amid limited inventories tight supply of domestic scrap.
In China, steel futures continued to trend up. On Thursday, imported iron ore with 62pc Fe content was priced above $171/mt cfr North China. Domestic billet prices in the retail market recovered by CNY90/mt to CNY4,410/mt ex-Tangshan, including VAT.
Subcontinent
On Friday, the daily Davis Index for containerized shredded dropped to $435.30/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, down by $9.69/mt. The daily index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $421.48/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, down $6.47/mt from a day ago.
($1=Rs72.47)