Imported ferrous scrap offers in Bangladesh continued to move upward following global trends. Trading, however, was slow as mills purchased scrap only to meet their immediate requirements amid record-high prices. On Thursday, the market remained closed for the Eid festival.
COVID-related restrictions and diversion on oxygen for medical use, have lowered the availability of ship-breaking scrap. Mills are still running short of inventories. But global steel demand is strong, and mills refused to lower steel output.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Thursday, settled at $538.75/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $11.25/mt. Suppliers from UK/EU offered containerized shredded at $540-545/mt cfr Chattogram. Yards on US West Coast were interested in catering to bulk inquiries due to a shortage of empty containers. With a limited supply of shredded with US yards, most were keen on supplying material to China where bids were higher than other importing countries.
Offers for the UK-origin P&S in containers were above $550-560/mt cfr Chattogram.
The daily index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Latin America settled at $506/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $8/mt. Most Latin American yards kept their offers for HMS 1&2 (80:20) above $505-510/mt cfr Chattogram on higher freight charges and active domestic demand.
Following a global price hike, the daily indexes for US-origin, UK-origin, and Australia-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20), Thursday, settled at $518.75/mt, $510/mt, and $520/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $13.75/mt, $15/mt, and $15/mt, respectively.
There were only a few bulk offers for Bangladeshi buyers as most yards focused on the Turkish market. On Thursday, indications for HMS 1&2 (80:20) were at $540-550/mt cfr Chattogram for June-July shipments from the US West Coast Yards. For shipbreakers, offers for scrapped vessels were above $560-580/ldt this week, following a surge in melting prices.
Steel prices in Bangladesh are yet to match producers’ expectations. End-user demand remained weak. Steel mills are hopeful of a rise in prices by BDT5,000-6,000/mt at minimum for all products next week. Large steelmakers could announce hikes once they return to the market and ramp up operations to the usual levels. The upcoming monsoon season could have a limited impact on the market in the near term.
($1=BDT84.74)