Bangladeshi steel mills continued buying limited containers of imported scrap this week. Most mills either have enough inventories to meet their production requirements or preferred to book lower-priced domestic scrap. A fall in the domestic steel prices pulled bids down by $5-7/mt from the early week.
In the bulk market, some shredded cargoes were offered at $320-325/mt cfr Chattogram levels. But buyers stayed away from trades.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Friday, settled at $321.43/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $3.43/mt from Thursday, but down by $1/mt from the prior week. On Friday, offers for containerized shredded from the UK were heard at $325-330/mt cfr Chattogram. Few deals for Australia and New Zealand-origin shredded were heard at $318-322/mt cfr Chattogram. However, offers subsequently were above $325/mt cfr Chattogram levels as supply remained tight.
The Davis Index for Australian HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $305/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $3/mt from the prior week. A few containers of #1 HMS from South American countries, including Brazil traded at $295-300/mt cfr Chattogram. But some Dhaka-based mills were reluctant to book material at these levels and preferred to import sponge iron from India at $260-270/mt cfr Chattogram, down by $10-15/mt from the prior week.
The Davis Index for busheling settled at $336/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $1/mt from the prior week. P&S from South America and Australia traded at $322-325/mt cfr Chattogram. The weekly index for the grade settled at $323/mt cfr, up by $5/mt.
Finished and semi-finished steel
Domestic steel prices rose early this week as demand showed signs of recovery. Firm input costs also added to the prices. In the latter part of the week, however, prices began to lose steam.
The weekly index for domestic billet settled at BDT41,500/mt ($491/mt), up by BDT2,000/mt ex-works Chattogram. Trades are starting to pick up with expectations of a dry spell in the coming days.
Infrastructure projects including the Padma bridge are expected to aid steelmakers but could take till October at the minimum.
Major steelmakers in Chattogram lifted their rebar offers despite limited trades on bullish indications in some global markets. Rebar was offered at BDT56,000-57,000/mt ex-works Chattogram. Sales by large mills remain relatively better compared to small steelmakers.
The weekly Davis Index for rebar from medium steelmakers settled at BDT52,500/mt ex-works, down by BDT1000/mt from the prior week, inclusive of VAT. Rebar by small-scale producers was offered at BDT50,000-50,500/mt ex-works, down by BDT500/mt from the prior week.
Domestic and shipbreaking scrap
In the shipbreaking market, scrapped ships were offered at $330-335/ldt but some deals were reported at $320-325/ldt cfr Chattogram.
The weekly Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose by BDT1500/mt to BDT27,250/mt ex-yards Chattogram inclusive of local taxes. Trades were reported at BDT26,500-27,000/mt ex-yards Chattogram. The Davis Index for shipbreaking scrap equivalent to P&S settled at BDT29,000/mt ex-yard, up by BDT1,000/mt from the prior week. By the weekend, prices dropped marginally amid softening global scrap markets.
($1=BDT84.53)