After booking considerable volumes of ferrous scrap last week, mills in Bangladesh slowed down purchases this week.
Domestic billet and rebar prices have also failed to rise with low end-user demand. Mills are still ramping up their production and preferred lower-priced domestic scrap.
In the bulk market, a US West Coast supplier sold 32,000mt shredded at $270-275/mt cfr Chattogram. Offers from yards from the region for HMS 1&2 (80:20) were at $275/mt cfr and shredded at $280/mt cfr Chattogram on Friday. Japanese ferrous scrap prices also increased this week following global cues.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Friday, settled unchanged from Thursday at $295/mt cfr Chattogram but was up by $3/mt from the prior week. Davis Index heard trades for containerized shredded from the UK at $295/mt cfr Chattogram early in the week. Offers subsequently rose to $300/mt cfr Chattogram late in the week. A few trades for Brazil and New Zealand- origin shredded scrap were at $285-290/mt cfr Chattogram.
Indian sponge iron exporters raised their offers for Bangladeshi buyers after the sealed border between the two countries was reopened late last week. Trades were reported at $255-260/mt cfr Chattogram this week, up by $10/mt from the prior week.
Major steelmakers including BSRM, AKS, and KSRM gave ramped up production to 70-90pc capacity and are expected to book more scrap after domestic steel demand shows signs of recovery.
The index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $283/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $2/mt from Thursday and by $8/mt from a week ago. A few trades were reported at $270-275/mt cfr Chattogram.
The Davis Index for Latin American HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $275/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $2/mt from Thursday and by $10/mt from the prior Friday. Offers for #1 HMS from Brazil and Chile were at $275-280/mt cfr Chattogram with bids at $270/mt cfr Chattogram. Brazilian exporters raised offers for buyers in South Asia as steelmakers in their home country were willing to accept higher offers.
The Davis Index for busheling settled at $308/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $3/mt from Thursday despite low demand. P&S from South America and Australia was offered at $295-300/mt cfr Chattogram with the weekly index for the grade at $295/mt cfr, up by $2/mt.
The Davis Index for Australian HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $278/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $3/mt from the prior week. Trades for #1 HMS from Australia were at $280/mt cfr Chattogram.
Finished and semi-finished steel
The weekly index for domestic billet settled at BDT39,250/mt ($462/mt) ex-works Chattogram, a drop of BDT500/mt from the prior week. Small scale furnaces have gradually started resuming operations. Weak end-user demand due to the ongoing monsoons has kept trades hit.
The weekly Davis Index for rebar from large steelmakers settled at BDT55,500/mt ex-producer, down by BDT500/mt. Dhaka-based small-scale long steel producers lowered their offered discounts to liquidate their inventories. Rebar was offered at BDT49,000-49,500/mt ex-plant, a fall of BDT1,000/mt from the prior week.
Domestic and shipbreaking scrap
Domestic ferrous scrap prices continued their downtrend due to oversupply and competitive sponge iron offers from India. The Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at BDT25,500/mt inclusive of local taxes ex-yard Chattogram, down by BDT250/mt from the prior week. The Davis Index for shipbreaking scrap equivalent to P&S settled at BDT26,500/mt ex-yard, down by BDT500/mt from the prior week.
($1=BDT84.75)