Bangladeshi steel mills continued aggressive inquires for ferrous scrap amid depleting inventories and rising steel prices. Demand for domestic steel and finished products has recovered this week as most of the government-run infrastructure projects are now fully operational. Consequently, rebar demand is strong. There were no bulk offers to meet buyers interest from Japan and the US on stronger domestic markets.
Suppliers, however, were hardly ready to offer materials amid short supply and persisting shortage of containers. Freight rates have caused offers to rise. The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Monday, settled at $411.07/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $7.27/mt from Friday. UK-origin containerised shredded was offered at $410-415/mt cfr Chattogram while bids for shredded from the US, New Zealand and Australian origin were heard at around $400-410/mt cfr Chattogram.
The weekly Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $390.71/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $5.71/mt from Friday. Trades for the UK and Australian containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) were reported at $380-385/mt cfr Chattogram over the weekend. On Monday, a few offers were at $390-395/mt cfr Chattogram from Australia and the US, differing in quality. Some mills are avoiding imports from the US and UK due to delay in shipment amid tight vessel space. #1 HMS scrap from the UK and Latin America offered only above $400-405/mt cfr Chattogram on Monday.
In the bulk markets, many mills sought Japanese small bulk cargoes but high demand from SE Asian buyers and domestic EAF makers in Japan caused suppliers to lose interest in offering it to Bangladeshi mills.
The daily index for Latin America-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $380/mt cfr Chattogram up by $6/mt from Friday. Offers for Latin American mix HMS #1 and P&S rose to $385-390/mt cfr Chattogram, while a few containers were booked for the grade at $380/mt cfr Chattogram for New Zealand and Chile-origin. Domestic markets in Latin America are firming up amid a recovery in steel demand, which is cutting down offers for Asian countries.
Rebar prices up least BDT1,000/mt on active
Since Friday, rebar prices rose further by BDT1,000-1,500/mt with many mills announcing price hikes this week. On Monday, large scale rebar makers like AKS and BSRM finally raised their asking prices by at least BDT60,500-61,000/mt ex-works with other mills adjusting their prices accordingly.
Trades for domestic billets started picking up. Steel mills were offering domestic billet at BDT49,000-49,500/mt ($580-585/mt) ex-works Chattogram. Most large-scale steelmakers have orders for steel products. Demand for ferrous scrap is likely to stay strong, said a steelmaker.
Rerolling market surge on global cues
Ship scrap equivalent to P&S rose in sync with a sharp rise in imported scrap prices. Trades for the same were at BDT38,500-39,000/mt ex-yards on Monday. While HMS 1&2 (80:20) was priced at BDT37,000/mt ex-yards Chattogram. Offers for scrapped vessel imports rose by $10/mt to cross the $420-440/ldt mark amid delay in arrival due to seasonal concerns.
Recyclers are likely to accept offers as high as $430-440/ldt this week as the appetite for raw materials is strong in the market. For shipbreakers, one company was heard to have booked a capsize vessel for scrapping at a price of $435/ldt.
($1= BDT84.68)