Bangladeshi mills actively sought ferrous scrap to secure additional inventories before prices move up further. Demand outlook remained strong on ongoing peak construction season. Sentiments were also driven by global cues with Turkey resuming bulk scrap trades while Chinese mills restocking billets. Elevated container freight charges with a likelihood of another hike effective early March led to the withdrawal of low offers from the market.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Friday, settled at $483.93/mt cfr Chattogram, up $5.8/mt from Thursday. The index rose by $16.43/mt from last Friday, Feb 19. UK/EU-origin containerized shredded traded at $480-485/mt cfr Chattogram pushing most offers to $490/mt cfr Chattogram on Friday. Prices are near the early January peak and could chart new highs next week, claim traders.
Japanese sellers were bullish with Tokyo Steel raising scrap bids twice during the week. For the Bangladeshi market, Japanese scrap offers rose by over $20-30/mt in the week.
Offers in the bulk market are high and unviable, said Bangladeshi mill owners. Japanese suppliers offered #2 HMS at $470/mt cfr Chattogram while the US suppliers sought above $480/mt cfr Chattogram and focused on the Turkish market.
On Friday, Chinese domestic billet prices rose to CNY4,300/mt ($668/mt) ex-Tangshan including VAT, up CNY20/mt. Chinese mills resumed billet imports at $595-600/mt cfr Southeast Asia.
The index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Latin America on Friday settled at $449/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $7/mt. Traders bought HMS 1&2 (90:10) in containers at $450-455/mt cfr Chattogram, with some yards targeting $460/mt cfr Chattogram on Friday. There were several trades from Brazil, Trinidad, the Caribbean and Central America lower-priced materials.
The daily Davis Index for US-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $453.21/mt cfr Chattogram, up $6.28/mt. The index rose by $16.96/mt from a week ago. Offers were high amid a strong outlook for the March domestic market.
Increased pellet export trades boosted Indian Sponge iron export offers by $30-35/mt from a week ago to $410-415/mt cpt Benapole or $420-425/mt cfr Chattogram.
Trades for containerized P&S and #1 busheling were sporadic amid limited buying interest. The index for P&S settled at $494/mt, up by $24/mt; while that for #1 busheling was at $510/mt cfr Chattogram, up $25/mt on Friday.
Domestic steel prices trend up
The weekly index for ship scrap equivalent to P&S rose by BDT1,295/mt ($18/mt) to BDT42,795/mt ($505/mt) ex-works. The index for domestic HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose BDT1,500/mt to BDT41,500/mt ex-yard Chattogram. Buyers opted ship scrap for faster delivery time.
To maintain spreads mills are eying at least BDT57,000/mt and BDT68,000/mt for billet and rebar, respectively. Post-mid-week, ship-breaking activities went silent as offers for scrapped vessels rose to $450-460/ldt, by $20/ldt from the prior week.
Domestic billet prices maintained an uptrend and traded at BDT54,000-54,500/mt ex-works Chattogram on Friday, index thus jumped by BDT2,250/mt from the prior week. The index for large steelmakers’ rebar, Friday, rose BDT1,500/mt to BDT67,000/mt ex-works. Mills cancelled discounts amid rising imported scrap prices and intend to hike steel prices in the coming days.
The index for rebar from medium-scale mills in Dhaka rose BDT1,000/mt to BDT62,750/mt ex-works. Small-scale mills offered rebar above BDT58,000-58,500/mt ex-works. Rebar traded, albeit, in small volumes in Dhaka at BDT63,000-64,000/mt ex-works medium-scale mills.
($1=BDT84.72)