Indian importers stayed away from imported ferrous scrap bookings as offers were firm on tight supply. Mills in the market kept bids low on weak domestic cues. Buyers inquired only for HMS from UAE for their immediate requirements. Domestic steel demand remained affected because of the Monsoon rains and primary mills eyed export orders.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Monday, rose by $1.5/mt from Friday to settle at $529/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Offers were firm above $530-535/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, with buyers unwilling to accept these levels. Except for stainless steelmakers, most buyers were only interested below $520-525/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. But sellers stayed away from negotiating at these levels. Only a few sellers were in the market for containerized shredded as most yards opted to fulfill bulk demand amid low collection rates. Indian currency remained depreciated above Rs74 against $1 for the last two weeks from Rs72 levels.
The daily Davis Index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) on Monday was unchanged at $493.75/mt cfr Nhava Sheva from Friday. A gap of $25-30/mt between offers and bids also impacted trading. For #1 HMS from the UAE, offers were $490-495/mt cfr Chennai.
The daily index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) remained unchanged at $473/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Secondary furnaces actively searched for lower-priced HMS and kept their bids at $450-455/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. But sellers stayed away from offering material at those levels.
In Alang, melting scrap prices on Friday declined by Rs400/mt to Rs35,300/mt ex-yards on Monday. In Mumbai, rebar prices remained unchanged since Thursday on subdued demand at Rs45,800/mt ex-works. In Mandi Gobindgarh, the index for ingot dropped by Rs400/mt to Rs43,300/mt ex-works. Weaker domestic demand kept purchases slower while many states have announced a new round of restrictions on COVID delta variant spread.
In China, domestic billet prices rose by CNY20/mt on Monday to $4,860/mt ex Tangshan inclusive of VAT. Iron ore prices for ferrous content 62pc were at $218/mt cfr North China with a likelihood of further rise on Monday.
Indian mills were active in the export market, with around 200,000mt on offer. Most mills had inventories piled up amid stable production and weak domestic demand. Yet, mills targeted firm offers refusing lower bids from China and Southeast Asian buyers in recent tenders. Mills targeted prices above $600-605/mt fob India. Boosted exports could help mills to import ferrous scrap again.
Subcontinent
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Monday, settled at $534.10/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, up by $1.93/mt; while that for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $498.25/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, unchanged from Friday.
On weekly comparison, the containerized freight rates from New York port were largely unchanged on South Aisa and China routes. ($1=Rs74.20)