A few mills in Bangladesh resumed inquiries and trades for imported ferrous scrap as prices dropped following global cues. Importers booked over 12,000mt of HMS while a small quantity of shredded, P&S and busheling prices matched bids from buyers who refilled inventories. However, large mills awaited clarity on global prices and postponed purchases.
Domestic steel sentiments in Bangladesh were not negative like that in Turkey. Steel production was on a gradual recovery after the nationwide lockdown was lifted, as market participants anticipated a healthy demand post the monsoon season.
Falling prices encouraged a few buyers to restock ferrous scrap inventories while potential high offers for shipbreaking for the remaining year could limit domestic scrap supply. The daily Davis index for UK-origin containerised HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $503/mt, down $2/mt on Tuesday and the index for Australia-origin dropped to $510/mt cfr Chattogram, by $3/mt from Monday. Over 12,000mt of containerised HMS 1&2 (80:20) was traded at $500-505/mt cfr Chattogram in the last two days.
Australian origin HMS 1&2 (90:10) was heard being sold at $507-510/mt cfr Chattogram. Buyers sought HMS from UK amid high freight charges for bulk cargoes from the US west coast while Latin American yards remained affected due to the shortage of space in vessels.
The daily index for US-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) dropped to $508.75/mt cfr Chattogram, down $2.5/mt from Monday. Most supplier yards remained unwilling to lower offers on the anticipation of a recovery in demand.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Tuesday, dropped by $1.25/mt to $541.25/mt cfr Chattogram, following a drop in South Asian bids. A few deals were reported for shredded at $540/mt cfr Chattogram while Latin American shredded was offered at $530-535/mt cfr Chattogram on Tuesday.
Offers for containerized UK origin shredded and P&S were at $540/mt cfr and $550/mt cfr Chattogram on Tuesday.
Chinese steel prices recovered on Monday which led market participants to remain hopeful of a recovery in Asian prices amid limited activities in Latin American and European markets. The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Latin America dropped to $495/mt cfr Chattogram, down $1/mt from Monday.
The supply of finished steel eased as inventories piled up during the lockdown.
For shipbreakers, offers for scrapped vessels dropped below $600-610/ldt, losing $20-30/ldt from the peak in the earlier weeks. Offers for ship scrap equivalent to P&S, were at BDT51,500-52,000/mt ex-yards.
($1=BDT85.1)