Imported scrap trades in Bangladesh picked pace as mills procured scrap at higher prices amid depleting inventories and ramped-up productions. Buyers are waiting for suppliers to resume trades and active buying is expected next week.
Domestic steel prices, which had trended up lately, led to a contraction of demand at record high prices. Building contractors’ association has asked the government to intervene and stop the rally in steel prices.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Friday, settled at $496.79/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $3.35/mt from Thursday while up $20.5/mt from the prior week. Thin trades reported above $495-500/mt cfr Chattogram amid few offers for containerized shredded from the UK and US yards this week.
Bids for UK-origin containerized P&S scrap lagged $10/mt against offers of $500/mt cfr Chattogram. The weekly index for the grade rose $16/mt from the prior week to $498/mt cfr Chattogram. The weekly Davis Index for #1 busheling, Friday, settled at $510/mt cfr Chattogram up by $22/mt from the prior week.
Australian HMS 1&2 (90:10) in containers offered at $475-480/mt cfr Chattogram. Against offers of the UK-origin HMS 1&2 80:20 at $480-485/mt cfr, bids lagged at $475/mt cfr Chattogram on Friday.
The Davis Index for containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) of the US-origin and Latin America-origin settled at $477.5/mt and $475/mt cfr Chattogram, rising by $12.25/mt and $11/mt, respectively, from the prior Thursday. Offers for HMS #1 from Chile were around $485-490/mt cfr Chattogram on Friday. In the US domestic market, prices rose by $90-100/gt. Suppliers are hesitant of offering material for exports.
In the bulk market, resumption of Chinese trades kept Japanese and Australian mills away, while European lockdown further tightened supplies to Bangladesh. With the announcement of export duties, Russian mills plan to consume domestic scrap and sell more billets in the export markets. Offers for HMS 1&2 (80:20) in bulk heard at $510-515/mt cfr Chattogram.
Domestic prices firm
Domestic steel prices remained stable on Friday. Ship scrap equivalent to P&S traded at BDT43,000-43,500/mt ex-works. The weekly index for ship scrap equivalent to P&S rose BDT750/mt to BDT43,500/mt ex-works. Domestic HMS 1&2 (80:20) index rose by BDT1,000/mt with trades at BDT42,000-42,500/mt ex-yards Chattogram and shipbreaking plates traded at BDT48,000-48,500/mt ex-yards.
For shipbreakers, offers rose to $460-480/ldt, but yards stayed away from bookings. Yards witnessed strong demand for ship scrap, however, very limited scrapped vessels are being offered from Europe amid renewed COVID-19 lockdowns.
Domestic billet traded at BDT52,500-53,000/mt ex-works Chattogram as mills attempt raise offers.
On Friday, the index for large steelmakers’ rebar rose BDT1,750/mt from Thursday to BDT66,500/mt ex-works. Mills witnessed strong resistance from rebars buyers as prices hit a record high. Offers of rebar heard at BDT67,000/mt and BDT68,000/mt ex-works. Large mills are targeting rebar at around BDT70,000/mt ex-works to maintain the spreads between scrap and rebar and to pass-on higher input costs.
Medium-scale mills in Dhaka held their offers for rebar at BDT62,000-63,000/mt ex-works. The weekly Davis Index for rebar from medium-scale steelmakers rose BDT2,000/mt inclusive of VAT.
Small scale mills offered rebars at BDT55,000-55,500/mt ex-works. The cost of construction has gone up sharply in Bangladesh, following high raw materials prices. The association of building contractors conducted a press conference demanding steelmakers to roll back unreasonably high prices, which could hurt domestic market sentiments next week.
($1= BDT84.68)