Large-scale mills in Bangladesh were active for both containerized and bulk bookings to refill inventories. But most resisted the present offer levels. Sellers, however, were unwilling to lower their offers. Steel trading in the local market remained affected due to the monsoon. Approaching financial year close could keep mills focused on closing their books.
Following softening Turkish bulk prices in the absence of major deals, Bangladeshi buyers resisted high offers. The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded settled at $547.5/mt cfr Chattogram on Thursday, down by $1.5/mt. A few trades for EU/UK origin-shredded were reported at $545-550/mt cfr Chattogram by large-scale mills. Bids largely were below $545/mt cfr Chattogram.
Bangladesh was the most active and highest-paying market in South Asia. Still, deals for containerized scrap could remain limited in the country as most mills were interested in negotiating for bulk. Elevated freight rates and a global shortage of containers have kept landed costs for containerized scrap high.
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Latin America, Thursday, inched down by $2/mt to $516/mt cfr Chattogram. Deals for HMS 1&2 (80:20) concluded at $515-518/mt cfr Chattogram. Bids then declined to $510-515/mt cfr. Offers for #1 HMS were at $520-525/mt cfr Chattogram.
In the bulk market, two uncomfirmed cargo deals from the US West Coast with shredded equivalent were heard at $540-545/mt cfr Chattogram.
On Thursday, the daily index for US-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $526.25/mt cfr Chattogram, down by $1.25/mt. Deals for HMS 1&2 (80:20) reported at $525-527/mt cfr Chattogram from the US and Australia. Earlier this week, Dubai-origin HMS #1 and P&S traded at $545/mt cfr while HMS 1&2 (80:20) traded at $525/mt cfr Chattogram.
The daily indexes for UK-origin and Australia-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) were unchanged at $520/mt and $527/mt cfr Chattogram, respectively. Scrap availability was tight in the domestic market. Mills with ship-breaking yards opted for scrapped vessel purchases.
Ship scrap equivalent to P&S was offered at BDT47,500-48,500/mt ex-yards. Rebar offers remained at BDT71,000-72,000/mt cfr Chattogram. Shipbreaking yards have decided to wait for prices to cool off amid tepid steel demand and seasonal slowdown.
($1=BDT84.7)