Demand for finished steel in Bangladesh is yet to recover as expected. Bangladeshi mills were largely away from imported ferrous scrap trades while bids dropped for HMS following global cues. Trading activities could remain slow for the next four days on holiday lull.
Bangladesh market is expected to resume trades next week. The government has declared Thursday, Aug 19 as a public holiday for Muharram. Friday, a usual day of low activities could halt trading.
The second wave of COVID-19 in Bangladesh is yet to come under control. Sales of finished are still in small quantities discouraging most large-scale sellers. Ferrous scrap restocking has slowed despite a ramp of steel production post lockdown.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Wednesday, settled at $550/mt cfr Chattogram, unchanged from a day prior. Trades for containerized shredded scrap took a short break as mills decided to postpone bookings for the Muharram holidays.
High containerized freight charges and logistic challenges continue to impact buying sentiments. Bids for bulk cargo lagged by more than $10-20/mt from current offers.
The daily index for US-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $515/mt cfr Chattogram, down $1.43/mt. The indexes for UK-origin and Australia-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) unchanged at $508/mt and $518/mt cfr Chattogram, respectively, down $2/mt.
A trade for 2,000mt of containerized #1 HMS reported at $520/mt cfr Chattogram but origin is yet to be confirmed.
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Latin America remained unchanged at $503/mt cfr Chattogram.
Large-scale rebar makers continued to raise asking rates following improved production rates and high input costs. Rebar from large scale rose to BDT73,500-74,000/mt ex-works Chattogram, up BDT500-1,000/mt from prior Friday. Billet prices rose to BDT62,000/mt ex-works.
For domestic P&S equivalent scrap from shipbreaking, offers rose BDT500/mt to BDT51,000/mt ex yards on Wednesday.
($1=BDT84.76)