Bangladeshi mills lowered ferrous scrap bids by another $10-15/mt amid a decline in the global ferrous scrap offers from the US and Japan. Most mills stayed away from container deals and are expected to wait till prices settle down at some level, said traders.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Tuesday, settled at $476.25/mt cfr Chattogram, down by $8.75/mt from Monday. Containerized trades slowed on Tuesday as most large mills either have ample inventories or have booked cargoes in the past few days. On Tuesday, asking prices were at $480-485/mt cfr Chattogram, while buying interest was below $475/mt cfr Chattogram.
The daily Davis Index for containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) of US-origin settled at $455/mt cfr Chattogram, down by $10.71/mt. On Tuesday, buyers were not interested in price levels above $450-455/mt cfr Chattogram for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Australia or Latin America-origin. Bids for the UK-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) in containers heard at $450/mt cfr Chattogram.
The daily Davis Index for containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) of Latin-origin settled at $456/mt cfr Chattogram, down by $9/mt as buyers lowered bids. A few offers for HMS #1 from Chile were at around $465-470/mt cfr Chattogram but buyers resisted those levels.
Indian suppliers offered Sponge iron at $360-370/mt cpt Benapole or $370-380/mt cfr Chattogram, lower by $10/mt from late last week.
Domestic steel prices drop
Prices for shipbreaking scrap equivalent to P&S continued to decline with trades at BDT40,000-41,000/mt ex-works on Tuesday, down BDT500/mt from Monday. Offers for domestic HMS 1&2 (80:20) were at BDT39,000-39,500/mt ex-yards Chattogram.
Trades for billets were at BDT50,000-50,500/mt ex-works Chattogram. Mills continued to offer discounts to encourage trades.
Finished steel consumption in Bangladesh has recovered amid the resumption of infrastructure projects, however, sales remain slow as end-users were unwilling to accept higher prices. Steelmakers’ margins are squeezed due to high raw material prices which they are unable to pass on downstream.
On Tuesday, medium-scale mills in Dhaka sold rebar at BDT60,000-60,500/mt ex-works. Large steelmakers made every attempt to keep finished steel, especially rebar, prices firm but had to offer discounts of BDT1,000-1,500/mt to encourage sales.
In January, domestic billet and scrap prices have dropped by at least BDT3,000-3,500/mt ($35-41/mt). Imported scrap prices need to drop by $40-50/mt to come in parity with the current steel prices, said steelmakers, adding that buyers are waiting for another $10-15/mt drop to resume trades in containers.
($1=BDT84.92)