Imported ferrous scrap offers in the South Asian ferrous scrap market remained firm on Monday. Mills, however, continued to struggle with weak demand. Rebar sales, a steel product driving scrap sales, continued to be under pressure. A few buyers indicated supply-side pressure amid easing supply and a rising number of offers in the market. But others had a different opinion.
In Turkey, recent deals weighed down prices. On Friday last week, the index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) in bulk was at $286/mt cfr Turkey, down $0.3/mt from the prior day. South Asian buyers await more deals in Turkey to offer price clarity.
Bangladesh
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Monday, was at $324.43/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $0.34/mt from Friday. Buyers preferred shredded from Australia and New Zealand in containers amid quicker deliveries and bid at $315-320/mt cfr Chattogram. UK yards were still unwilling to offer material at prices below $325-328/mt cfr Chattogram citing a limited supply. Bids, however, were at $315-320/mt cfr Chattogram.
In the bulk market, West Coast US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) offers were at $315-320/mt cfr Chattogram. But after a couple of bulk deals last week, buying interest lowered. Late last week, a Japanese bulk of 16,000mt traded at $307/mt cfr Chattogram. But buyers are waiting for Japan’s export prices to soften before booking more.
The daily index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Monday, settled at $312.79/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $0.65/mt. A rise in the number of offers could create a room for price decline by $3-5/mt in the coming days. In the domestic market, declining steel prices kept most buyers interested in lower-priced material. Some trades for Australia, UK, and US-origin HMS scrap were at $310-315/mt cfr Chattogram.
The index for Latin America-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $308/mt cfr Chattogram on Monday, up by $2/mt, with trades at the index price. South American HMS #1 traded at $310-312/mt cfr Chattogram. Asking prices were at $315/mt cfr Chattogram for #1 HMS scrap with low to no buying interest at those levels.
Domestic shipbreaking scrap equivalent to P&S traded at BDT31,000/mt ex-yard Chattogram. HMS 1&2 (80:20) was priced at BDT28,500-29,000/mt ex-yard Chattogram, down by BDT500/mt. Dhaka based finished steel producers sold rebars at BDT48,500/mt ex-works.
Pakistan
Weak domestic finished steel prices kept Pakistani buyers away from trades.
Pakistani currency was at PKR162.3 against $1 from PKR163.5 late last week which could support imported scrap trades. But on Monday, the impact of this appreciation on trades seemed limited.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded settled at $313.71/mt cfr Port Qasim, up by $1.57/mt from Friday. Trades for containerized shredded of Europe-origin were at $310-312/mt cfr Port Qasim. Offers from UK yards were at $312-315/mt cfr Port Qasim, with a few containerized deals at $313-315/mt cfr Port Qasim.
Dubai-origin #1 HMS scrap in containers traded at $303-305/mt cfr Port Qasim. Offers for PNS sarya scrap were at $310/mt cfr on Thursday. The Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $294/mt cfr Port Qasim, up by $2/mt. Major mills stayed away from booking HMS scrap as they found offers unviable.
The index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $298.21/mt cfr Port Qasim, up by $3.07/mt from Friday.
In the domestic market, Bala billet prices were flat on weak demand at PKR90,000-90,300/mt ex-works Punjab. Domestic Pure Q toke scrap equivalent to shredded traded at PKR70,500-71,000/mt del Lahore mill, down PKR200-300/mt from Friday.
Leading rebar producers in Karachi kept base offer prices unchanged at PKR111,000-112,000/mt ex-works. Mills are still waiting for demand in the infrastructure segment to pick up. Market participants are hoping for steel demand in rural areas to increase in the coming days.
($1= PKR162.32; BDT84.75)