Shipbreaking scrap prices rose on Wednesday amid firm demand from the local rolling mills. The daily Davis Indexes for 4Ani and 6Ani rose by Rs500/mt ($6.80/mt) each to Rs41,000/mt and Rs41,800/mt ex-Alang, respectively.
Yards in Alang are slowly getting back into action after being forced to shutdown due to shortage of oxygen cylinders. However, shortage of tonnage still exists as Pakistan and Bangladesh are offering higher prices for the vessels than India.
The daily Davis Indexes for 10Ani and 12Ani rose by Rs600/mt each to settle at Rs41,800/mt ex-Alang. Mills are still buying on a need basis as demand from end-users in India is still low due as lockdown has been extended in most regions.
Ship plate prices are also following the same trend due to slowdown in gas cutting activities. The index for 1kg plates rose by Rs200/mt to Rs40,700/mt ex-Alang and the index for 5kg plates prices rose by Rs500/mt to Rs41,700/mt ex-Alang.
Market participants expect finished steel prices to surpass global steel prices. This may boost domestic ferrous scrap prices, which are already high in the international markets. In the past week HMS 1&2 (80:20) prices rose by $50/mt to $502/mt cfr Turkey.
The index for HMS attachments and Melting rose by Rs300/mt each to Rs40,500/mt and Rs39,500/mt ex-Alang, respectively.
($1=Rs73.43)