Indian steel mills halted imports as they focused on domestic scrap to meet immediate requirements. Suppliers from the UAE reacted to the drop in the domestic steel and scrap prices and lowered offers on Monday. Scrap prices from other origins remained largely unchanged as suppliers and traders resisted the prices drop, thus, widening the gap between bids and offers on Monday.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded settled unchanged at $462.5/mt cfr Nhava Sheva from Friday. Mills opted for domestic scrap over imported. Offers for UK/EU-origin shredded at $460-465/mt cfr Nhava Sheva on Friday. Turkish mills resisted high prices leading to fewer short sea bookings last week. To encourage buyers, prices may drop $5-8/mt in the Indian subcontinent amid weak domestic fundamentals, said a trader.
The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Monday, settled at $416/cfr Nhava Sheva, down by $4/mt as domestic scrap prices lost steam. Buyers continued to resist high offers. On Monday, a few offers for Dubai-origin HMS #1 and P&S were at $420-425/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, despite bids of $410-415/mt cfr Nhava Sheva and $425-430/mt cfr Chennai.
The daily index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Monday, inched up by $2.5/mt to $427.5/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Suppliers kept offers firm as March settlements were up by $50-70/gt in the domestic market. It is unlikely that Indian mills would be offered lower prices from the yards in the US, Australia, and Europe.
HMS trades from West Africa and Latin America materialized at marginally lower prices.
Shipbreaking melting scrap prices, Monday, dropped by Rs300/mt to Rs30,700-30,800/mt ex-Alang amid softening demand and rising domestic scrap supply. Ingot prices in Mandi Gobindgarh at Rs39,300-39,400/mt ex-works.
In China, domestic steel prices showed signs of stability after witnessing a correction late last week. Steel inventories have remained high. On Monday, Australian iron ore with 62pc Fe content remained at $174.5-175/mt cfr China. Domestic billet prices rose by CNY20/mt from Saturday to CNY4,390/mt ex-Tangshan, including VAT. Domestic steel prices rose amid production controls being announced in Tangshan.
Subcontinent
On Monday, the daily Davis Index for containerized shredded rose to $464.82/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, up by $0.67/mt. The daily index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $433.59/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, up $1.41/mt. Container availability is still low, but container freights have remained flat this week.
($1=Rs72.47)