Steel mills in Bangladesh bought limited tonnages of imported ferrous scrap on Wednesday. The continuous decline of steel prices in China weighed down sentiment in Asia. Bids started to dip in Bangladesh driven by a fall in prices in other subcontinental markets. Also, mixed sentiments discouraged buyers as they await more clarity.
A few market participants were away on account of Buddha Purnima, a local holiday. The Bangladeshi government has extended its national lockdown until May 30 which has also impacted trading. Labourers who had left for the Eid holidays are still unwilling to return amid increasing domestic uncertainty.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Wednesday, settled unchanged at $537.50/mt cfr Chattogram as traders were unwilling to lower asking rates. Offers from traders above $540-545/mt cfr Chattogram.
Bangladeshi yards resisted a decade’s high prices for imported scrapped vessels. Offers for containers were at $560-570/ldt cnf Chattogram. Domestic scrap supply is tight while sellers are awaiting clarity on international prices. After price hikes, the asking rate for rebar and billets remain elevated.
The daily index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Latin America dropped at $500/mt cfr Chattogram, down $3/mt. Mills showed interest in the Brazilian and UK origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $490-495/mt cfr Chattogram and are willing to pay $10/mt more for the US, Australia and New Zealand origin scrap depending on quality and transit period.
The index for US-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $513/mt, down by $0.75/mt. While the indexes for the grade of UK and Australia-origin fell by $4/mt to $503/mt and by $2/mt to $510/mt cfr Chattogram, respectively, on Wednesday.
($1=BDT84.8)