Imported ferrous scrap prices were standstill in Pakistan and Bangladesh on Thursday as trades halted on account of Muharram holidays. Most steel mills indicate improving domestic steel demand and a possible hike of finished steel prices post holidays. This held imported scrap sentiments positive despite bearish global cues.
Pakistan
In absence of demand for imported materials and halted domestic steel movement, the daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Thursday, settled unchanged at $539/mt cfr Qasim. Major steel mills were unwilling to take new sale orders, as they expected another round of price hike of PKR5,000-6,000/mt ($30-36/mt) when regular trades resume next week.
For containerised HMS of UAE origin prices firmed on steady demand. The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) Thursday settled unchanged at $495/mt cfr port Qasim. Offers for UAE-origin mixed #1 HMS and P&S above $510/mt cfr Port Qasim.
Availability of domestic scrap is tight in Pakistan, meanwhile, many construction projects are expected to resume post monsoon. The market will near peak steel demand season in September and October.
Bangladesh
On Thursday, very limited number of importers were active in the market despite a ramp up of steel production.
Thursday and Friday are declared public holidays for Muharram and thus, trades are expected to resume next week. Although the country is witnessing a decline in the number of deaths due to COVID-19, it could take longer to control the pandemic.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Thursday, settled at $550/mt cfr Chattogram, unchanged since last two days. Trades for containerised shredded scrap took a short break as mills decided to postpone bookings post Muharram holidays.
The daily index for US-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $515/mt cfr Chattogram, unchanged. The indexes for UK-origin and Australia-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) were also unchanged at $508/mt and $518/mt cfr Chattogram, respectively.
Containerized freight rates continued to rise on tight availability. Weekly normalised freight from Oakland rose by $8.34/mt to $175.61/mt while from Seattle by $5.32/mt to $205.35/mt impacting buying interest. Containerised freight from New York and Savannah was at $83.22/mt and $88.11/mt according to data with Davis Index.
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Latin America Thursday dropped by $2/mt to $501/mt cfr Chattogram. Bids are expected to drop following softening cues in China and Japan.
On Thursday, Chinese spot iron ore prices tumbled on demand concerns with production cuts. On the other side, average bids for Japan’s monthly scrap tender in Kanto region recorded a drop of $11.3/mt in August compared to July.
($1=PKR164.29, BDT84.48)