Imported ferrous scrap trades in Bangladesh remained slow for the third week. Only a handful of buyers were interested in booking containerised imported scrap as most major steelmakers hold enough inventories. Offers, however, moved up following global cues on the back of a rise in August shipment bulk cargo prices in Turkey. Due to the ongoing monsoons, construction activity remains slow and thus buyers are likely to book scrap only on need basis. Some Dhaka-based mills are mulling over purchases from Singapore for quicker delivery time.
The Davis Index for containerised shredded Friday settled at $283/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $3/mt from Thursday and $5/mt from the prior week. Offers from Europe and UK yards were at $290/mt cfr Chattogram.
Davis Index heard trades for shredded from Australia and New Zealand at $275-280/mt cfr Chattogram. Offers for the same grade from Canada and the US were at $280-285/mt cfr Chattogram.
Japanese ferrous scrap export prices continued to slip with many buyers keen on purchases from the country.
The index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $266/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $1/mt from Thursday and by $8/mt from the prior Friday. A few trades for the grade were at $265-270/mt cfr Chattogram.
The Davis Index for Latin American HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $258/mt cfr Chattogram, flat from Thursday and up by $5/mt from prior Friday. Offers for #1 HMS from Brazil and Chile were at $265-270/mt cfr Chattogram with no response from buyers. Suppliers from Brazil cited better realisation in their country and thus refused to reduce prices.
Few trades for busheling were at $295-300/mt cfr Chattogram with the index settling at $298/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $3/mt from the prior week. P&S from South America traded at $285-290/mt cfr Chattogram and the weekly index inched up by $2/mt to $288/mt cfr Chattogram.
The Davis Index for Australian HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $270/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $5/mt from the prior week. Trades were reported at the index price. Europe-origin containerised HMS 1&2 (80:20) traded at $265-270/mt cfr Chattogram.
Finished and semi-finished steel
The weekly index for domestic billet settled at BDT40,500/mt ($475/mt) ex-works Chattogram, down by BDT500/mt from the prior week. Sales in the domestic market were subdued in the first week of the new financial as most offices prioritised finishing the spillover documentation work.
The weekly Davis Index for rebar from large steelmakers settled unchanged at BDT56,500/mt ex-producer. Small-scale producers sold rebar at BDT50,000/mt ex-plant Dhaka after a discount of BDT1,000/mt.
Around 90,000mt of Indian sponge iron booked by induction furnaces remains stuck at the border. But with sponge iron of Indian-origin priced at $250/mt cfr Chattogram, it remained more viable over imported scrap. Thus a few buyers are trying secure material using water transport.
Leading steelmakers have received low-interest working capital loans from the government as part of COVID-19 relief to help industries resume operations. This could help them tide over their losses.
Domestic scrap
Domestic ferrous scrap prices declined in Bangladesh as the supply eased this week. The Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at BDT26,250/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 BDT27,000/mt ex-yard, down by BDT500/mt from the prior week.
($1=BDT85.14)