Mills in Bangladesh had a limited interest in imported containerised ferrous scrap. Also availability was tight. However, appetite for HMS and P&S strengthened as mills raised bids slightly to match competitive bids in South Asia.
Demand for steel remained weak with small and medium mills struggling with cash flows due to the affect of COVID-19 on production and monsoon season.
Mills opted for HMS and P&S trades and remained reluctant to book shredded materials. The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Monday, was unchanged at $537.5/mt cfr Chattogram. Limited steel demand discouraged shredded bookings.
On Monday, normalised containerized freight rates stayed elevated at above $90.3/mt on New York to Chattogram port route.
Many large mills struggled with low credit limits in banks, which hurt import capabilities.
On Monday, Chinese steel prices rebounded followed the anticipation of additional production cuts in some of the provinces, meanwhile, market prices continued to soften in Japan. Availability of Japanese heavy melt scrap increased while the domestic demand remained lower than expectations thus creating a downward pressure.
Mills in Bangladeshi remained uninterested in bulk bookings but found Japanese prices competitive to USWC, said a leading Japanese scrap seller.
The daily index for US-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) inched up to $505/mt cfr Chattogram, up $1/mt from Friday. The indexes for UK-origin and Australia-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $501/mt and $506/mt cfr Chattogram, respectively, up by $1/mt from Aug 23. Buyers booked HMS in containers as prices dropped to match expectations.
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Latin America rose to $498/mt cfr Chattogram, by $3/mt from Friday. Positive sentiments and firm prices in other subcontinental markets pushed Bangladeshi mills to raise their bids by at least $5/mt than the prior week.
Domestic steel prices remain soft
For ship scrap equivalent to P&S offers were at BDT51,000-51,500/mt ex-yards, down BDT500/mt. For ship plates, the asking price dropped to BDT56,200/mt ex-yards, down BDT300/mt from Friday.
Rebar from large-scale mills was unchanged at BDT73,000/mt ex-works. While for billet, asking rates were stable at BDT62,000-62,500/mt ex-works. Finished steel supplies in Bangladesh remained higher than demand due to inventory pile-up during the lockdown.
($1=BDT85.2)