Bangladeshi mills slowed bookings ahead of the Eid holidays next wee and continuous monsoon rains. Only a few mills were in the overseas market amid a shortage of domestic ferrous scrap. Steel sales in the country remain under pressure and a high landed cost for imported material has resulted in a margin squeeze.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded on Thursday settled at $553.75/mt cfr Chattogram, down $1.25/mt. Deals were scarce as sellers’ expectations of above $560/mt cfr Chattogram found very few takers. Most buyers were at $550/mt cfr Chattogram following Turkish cues.
Effective July 14, the lockdown was eased for Eid-al-Adha celebrations until July 23. The move could lead to a surge in infection cases. The country will go into stringent lockdown for two weeks starting July 23 with the closures of all government, semi-government, autonomous, and private offices in addition to travel and transport restrictions.
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Latin America, Thursday, was unchanged at $521/mt cfr Chattogram. Brazilian domestic scrap prices could drop with increasing collection rates. Yet offers in the seaborne markets were elevated.
A few mills in Chattogram and Dhaka sought HMS scrap from the UAE to fulfill immediate melt requirements amid the domestic supply crunch. Since the last couple of months, deals for UAE-origin material have picked up in Bangladesh. Offers on Thursday for UAE origin #1 HMS were at $540-545/mt cfr Chattogram.
The daily index for US-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) was unchanged at $533.75/mt cfr Chattogram. The indexes for UK-origin and Australia-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) also settled unchanged at $521/mt and $529/mt cfr Chattogram, respectively.
Demand in the domestic steel market remains muted, and rebar trades are yet to recover. Billet and rebar prices remained flat at BDT59,500-60,000/mt and BDT71,500-72,000/mt ex-works, respectively. Offers for ship scrap equivalent to P&S were at BDT49,500-50,000/mt ex-yards.
($1=BDT84.83)