Bangladeshi ferrous scrap prices jumped by $15-20/mt in a week following strong global cues. Importers were cautiously buying as offers have gone up sharply and uncertainty around COVID-19 cases rising in Asian countries have hampered market sentiments. Many mills rushed to secure domestic scrap purchases lifting prices further. Domestic ship breaking scrap prices rose by BDT2,500-3,000/mt ($29-35/mt) in a week.
Large steel producers like BSRM and AKS maintained rebar prices flat to stimulate sales but are expected to raise prices by another BDT1500-2000/mt effective next week. Mixed sentiments kept mills away from closing deals for raw materials like scrap and sponge iron at higher prices.
In other bulk markets, offers for US West Coast-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) were indicated to be above $360-365/mt cfr Chattogram with no buying interest. Early in the week, a few offers rose to $350/mt cfr Vietnam on strong inquiries. With Turkish mills accepting $330-332/mt cfr Turkey level, Bangladeshi mills might revise bids to materialize deals. Japanese #2 HMS was offered at $350/mt cfr Chattogram with no major trades to report.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Friday, settled at $364.64/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $3.39/mt from Thursday and $14.14/mt from a week earlier. Most offers were in the range of $365-370/mt cfr Bangladesh against bids of upto $355/mt cfr Chattogram. A few mills turned quiet after booking shredded at around $350/mt cfr Chattogram from South America and Australia. Buying interest in container deals at high prices is very limited. P&S scrap offered at $370/mt cfr Chattogram with no buyers at those levels.
The weekly Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $348.5/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $2.36/mt from Thursday and up to $16/mt from a week earlier. A few offers from Australia and the US were around $350/mt cfr Chattogram varying by quality. Some mills are avoiding imports from the US and UK due to longer delivery schedules.
The daily index for Latin America-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $341/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $15/mt from Nov 12. Brazilian traders sought prices above $340-345/mt cfr Chattogram due to firm demand in the domestic market. Offers for Latin American HMS #1 rose to $350/mt cfr Chattogram against bids of upto $340/mt cfr Chattogram. P&S from the UK and Latin America offers rose by $20/mt to $365-370/mt cfr Chattogram from the prior week. The weekly Davis Index for busheling settled at $378/mt cfr Chattogram, up $15/mt with no major deals reported amid tight supply.
Finished, semi-finished steel
The weekly Davis Index for domestic billet Friday rose BDT750/mt to settle at BDT42,500/mt ($501.38/mt) ex-works Chattogram with trades at the index price. On Friday, major steelmakers in Chattogram offered domestic billet at BDT42,500-43,000/mt ex-works to offset high input costs.
The weekly Davis Index for rebar from medium-scale steelmakers settled at BDT52,000/mt ex-works, up BDT1500/mt, inclusive of VAT. Large steel producers BSRM and AKS are offering rebar at BDT56,000-57,000/mt ex-works, respectively, with the index for large steelmakers’ rebar up BDT500/mt from last Friday at BDT57,000/mt ex-works.
Dhaka-based finished steel producers offered rebars at BDT50,500-51,000/mt ex-works, but buyers were unwilling to raise bids above BDT50,000/mt ex-works amid slow pace of infra projects in rural areas.
Domestic and shipbreaking scrap
Domestic shipbreaking scrap equivalent to P&S jumped up BDT2,500-3,000/mt to traded at BDT35,000-35,500/mt ex-yard Chattogram from the prior week. The weekly index rose BDT1,375/mt to BDT33,625/mt ex-yards on Friday. HMS 1&2 (80:20) was priced at BDT32,500-33,000/mt ex-yard Chattogram. The weekly Davis Index for the grade settled at BDT32,500/mt ex-yard on Friday, up BDT2150/mt. Offers for scrapped vessel imports were flat at $360-370/ldt with indications of increased arrivals and prices reaching $400/ldt by year-end.
($1= BDT84.77)