Imported scrap offers in Bangladesh continued to rise as mills increased inquires. But trading was slow with only a few mills willing to pay current price levels.
Chinese domestic billet prices declined by around CNY20/mt, but are still on the higher end of the spectrum at CNY4,230/mt ($655/mt) ex-Tangshan including VAT. Billet prices in China and Southeast Asia supported sentiment in Bangladesh and a few billet makers resumed ferrous scrap imports.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Tuesday, settled at $477/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $6.64/mt from Monday. On Tuesday, most traders and yards kept their asking prices at $480-485/mt cfr Chattogram. But barring large-scale buyers, no other mill found these prices viable. Trades for P&S in containers were reported at $485/mt cfr Chattogram.
Most yards have raised prices for fresh offers while container freight charges rose by $3-4/mt this week again. Buyers could thus wait for offer prices to fall given the uncertainty around steel demand sustaining at elevated prices. Small and medium-scale producers continue to deal with cash flow concerns.
A few mills were interested in bulk purchases due to rising container freight charges and limited availability of containers. Offers in the bulk market jumped $10-15/mt for material from the US, Australia, and Japan-based suppliers. For Japanese H1:H2 offers were in the range of $440-445/mt cfr Chattogram on Tuesday.
Brazilian sellers continued exports to Bangladesh. The daily Davis Index for US-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) Tuesday settled at $443.21/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $2.50/mt; while the index for the grade from Latin America settled at $437/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $3/mt. Traders continued to offer HMS 1&2 (90:10) in containers in the range of $440-445/mt cfr Chattogram.
Domestic steel prices stay up
Offers of ship scrap equivalent to P&S were unchanged at BDT42,000/mt ($495/mt) ex-yards. Buyers opted for ship scrap on faster delivery time. Ship plate of 16mm traded at BDT48,000-48,500/mt ex-yards.
There were several trades for scrapped ships last week as yards speed up bookings to secure material. Offers for scrapped vessels were in the range of $450-460/ldt on Tuesday.
Domestic billet traded at BDT53,500/mt ($631.21/mt) ex-works Chattogram. End-users have started absorbing earlier price hikes.
Large steelmakers in Chattogram offered rebar at higher prices amid high input costs. Asking rates for rebar were unchanged at BDT66,500-67,500/mt ex-works on Tuesday. Rebar offers from medium-scale mills in Dhaka were at BDT62,000-63,000/mt ex-works.
Some market participants predict steel demand could stay strong until Mid-May. Once the monsoons arrive late in May, demand and prices could come under pressure.
($1=BDT84.75)