Imported containerized ferrous scrap offers to Bangladesh remained firm as most sellers and traders resisted lower bids. On the other hand, mills were not interested in trades amid rising COVID-19 cases and weak steel demand during Ramadan.
A handful of offers were active leaving containerised trades muted on Tuesday. Also, Bangladesh’s port authority has imposed additional depot charges on unloading materials increasing the landed cost of imports.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Tuesday, settled at $478.21/mt cfr Chattogram, down $0.72/mt from Monday. UK-origin containerized shredded offered at $485-490/mt cfr Chattogram but buyers showed little interest.
Latin American yards continued to prefer domestic buyers as Bangladeshi bids turned unattractive. Yards held asking prices firm amid vessel space crunch. The daily index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Latin America settled unchanged at $458/mt cfr Chattogram.
In the US domestic market, April monthly settlements reported higher-than-expected prices. The indices for US-origin, UK-origin, and Australia-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $462.5/mt, $453/mt, and $465/mt cfr Chattogram, respectively. There were hardly any deals for HMS 1&2 (80:20) with bids falling below $450-455/mt cfr Chattogram on Tuesday.
Domestic steel prices flat
Weak steel demand lowered trades for domestic scrap. Ship scrap equivalent to P&S offered at BDT45,500/mt ex-yards. Domestic HMS 1&2 (80:20) remained unchanged at BDT44,000-44,500/mt ex-yard Chattogram as most mills completed their pre-Ramadan restocking last week. Participants expect prices to drop as much as BDT5,000/mt in the coming days.
On Tuesday, domestic billet offers were at BDT60,000-60,500/mt ex-works Chattogram. Large steelmakers held rebar asking rates at higher levels on increased imported scrap prices. Rebar prices remained unchanged at BDT69,000-70,000/mt ex-works.
($1=BDT84.5)