Bangladeshi mills are ramping up steel production as demand has started recovering. The national lockdown was lifted on Wednesday, allowing retail distributors to resume activities. Movement restrictions on people, goods, and vehicular traffic will be further relaxed in phases. Finished steel sales and construction activities are likely to pick up, boosting ferrous scrap imports.
Despite slow trading, prices showed recovery. Although Turkish bulk prices declined, containerized scrap prices in Asia could bottom out. The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Wednesday, settled at $545/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $2.5/mt. Deals for shredded from the UK/EU were at $545-550/mt cfr Chattogram Wednesday.
A rise in freights rates from the US West Coast kept bulk offers elevated in Bangladesh, compared to the equivalent market prices in Turkey. Mills were offered bulk HMS 1&2 (80:20) from the US WC at $545/mt cfr Chattogram.
Although the lockdown was eased, the number of COVID-19 cases is yet to come under control. There is a possibility of re-imposition of lockdown, which could delay demand recovery, state some participants.
The daily index for US-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $520/mt cfr Chattogram, unchanged from Tuesday. The indexes for UK-origin and Australia-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) were at $515/mt and $523/mt cfr Chattogram, respectively, up by $2/mt.
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Latin America rose by $2/mt to $510/mt cfr Chattogram. Most traders faced difficulties finding empty containers for exports keeping freight elevated. Global scrap prices, however, have dropped globally.
Workers have started to return to factories, and rainfall is also likely to recede in the coming weeks. Availability of oxygen for medical use is expected to ease with increased productions.
Offers for shipbreaking scrap equivalent to P&S were at BDT50,000/mt ($590/mt) ex-yards. For yards, offers for scrapped vessels were firm, keeping domestic rolling and melting scrap offers elevated. For ship plates, asking rates were at BDT57,500/mt ex- yards on Wednesday, down BDT500/mt.
For rebar, after the lockdown large-scale mills raised asking rates by BDT1,000-2,000/mt from earlier prices. Rebar from large-scale mills offered in the range of BDT72,000-73,000/mt ex-works, depending on the brand.
($1=BDT84.89)