Demand for imported ferrous scrap in Bangladesh was subdued on the back of weak finished steel trades in the market. The country’s lockdown could extend till May 30. Ramadan and Eid holidays late this month have also kept markets silent.
Bulk ferrous scrap offers to Bangladesh moved up by $10-20/mt from the prior week amid a demand recovery in other Asian markets like Vietnam and South Korea. Offers for mixed scrap cargoes were reported at $280-285/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $10-15/mt from the prior deal. Major steel mills, however, either placed very low bids or refused to bid this week as they faced liquidity crunch.
In the container market, the daily Davis Index for shredded settled at $278/mt cfr Chattogram on Friday, up by $3/mt from the prior day. Early this week, trades for shredded concluded at $275/mt cfr Chattogram. Though bids by major steelmakers were at $265-270/mt cfr Chattogram. No suppliers were ready to accept these price levels.
The Davis Index for containerised P&S settled at $269/mt cfr Chattogram, down by $6/mt from the prior week. The daily Davis Index for US-origin containerised HMS 1&2 (80:20) dropped by $5/mt to $250/mt cfr Chattogram on Friday.
The Davis Index for Australian-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $255/mt cfr Chattogram, unchanged from the prior week.
The daily Davis Index for Latin American HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $245/mt cfr Chattogram, down by $5/mt. Offers from Brazilian traders were at $250-255/mt cfr Chattogram with no takers in the market.
Bangladesh rebar prices drop by BDT2,000/mt
Major steelmakers were unwilling to lower finished steel prices until last week. This week though, prices fell amid excessive inventories with mills and silent finished steel market which failed to receive an impetus from the infrastructure sector.
The Davis Index for domestic HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at BDT26,500/mt inclusive of local taxes ex-yard Chattogram, down by BDT1,000/mt from the prior week. The Davis Index for ship breaking scrap equivalent to P&S settled at BDT27,500/ mt ex-yard, down BDT1,000/mt from the prior week.
The Davis Index for rebar from large steelmakers settled at BDT57,500/mt ex-producer, down by BDT2,000/mt from the prior week. Billet prices declined by BDT1,000/mt from the prior week. Many induction furnaces remained still shut.
($1=BDT84.83)