Indian domestic ferrous scrap prices settled flat in some regions as markets were slow due to local festivals and yards remained shut. However, in the North, scrap prices declined due to low demand from secondary mills.
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) declined by Rs400/mt ($5.43/mt) to Rs22,100/mt del Mandi Gobindgarh and the daily Davis Index for sponge iron settled flat at Rs22,500/mt del Mandi Gobindgarh. Mills are preferring sponge over scrap due shortage of HMS in the local market.
Markets in the South remained unchanged as trades were thin. The bi-weekly index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled flat at Rs24,000/mt del Chennai mills and the index for sponge iron settled at Rs20,500/mt del Chennai mills.
Shortage of ferrous scrap in the domestic markets is forcing mills to buy imported scrap. A 33,000mt bulk ferrous scrap cargo has been unloaded in Kandla recently.
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) declined by Rs400/mt to Rs23,600/mt del Mumbai mills. The index for sponge iron rose by Rs200/mt to Rs20,000/mt del Mumbai mills.
Markets in the East remained shut. The index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) and sponge iron remained unchanged at Rs25,000/mt and Rs20,400/mt del Durgapur mills, respectively.
Shipbreaking yards in Alang were closed on Thursday, while some were forced to suspend operations due to shortage of oxygen which is being diverted to medical usages amid the surge in COVID-19 cases.
As per sources, 30pc of yards in India have cut their operations by half while 70pc are expected to suspend operations by this week.
($1=Rs73.63)