Imported ferrous scrap offers in India trended up amid bullish global cues. A continuous rise in prices, however, has kept buyers away from the market despite strong domestic fundamentals. Uncertainty about shipment schedules due to a lack of vessel space and shortage of material with yards due to winters has also affected trades.
A few states in North India are dealing with renewed COVID-19 restrictions along with farmer protests, which have caused transport issues. Domestic for HRC and rebar, on the other hand, rose by Rs2,000-3,000/mt within a week, which could also keep market sentiment positive for the coming week.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded on Friday settled at $382.86/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $2.23/mt from Thursday and $15.72/mt from a week ago. There were low to no deals for shredded from the US and Europe/UK, but offers on Friday were largely above $380-385/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. A few offers were reported even at $390/mt cfr Chennai.
The Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $368/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $16/mt from Nov 27. Offers for containerized #1 HMS without the cast and galvanized iron from Dubai were at prices above $370-375/mt cfr Nhava Sheva on Friday, with a few deals reported at $370/mt cfr Nhava Sheva early week. Domestic scrap remained a preferred choice for many buyers amid uncertainty in deliveries of imported material.
The Davis Index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $364.5/mt cfr Nhava Sheva on Friday, up by $11.17/mt from prior Friday. Offers for containers of the grade were heard at 365-370/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. There were no fresh offers from the US and Australian bulk suppliers.
Trades for containerized Australian HMS 1&2 (80:20) were at $370/mt cfr Chennai, at prices up by $16/mt from Nov 27. A few trades for Australia and the UK-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) were at $355-365/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, with suppliers holding onto material expecting a $10/mt hike in the coming days. Suppliers from South Africa and West Africa stayed away from the market due to permit issues and restricted inflows.
The index for #1 busheling settled at $394/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $10/mt from the prior week. The weekly index for Turning scrap was at $333/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $14/mt, with offers of $330-335/mt cfr Nhava Sheva on Friday. P&S scrap traded at $380-385/mt cfr Nhava Sheva in thin quantities, with the index for the grade rising by $14/mt from the prior Friday.
High imported scrap prices pushed up billet export prices, with some Indian mills targeting $510-520/mt fob India. While Iranian billet offers were at $495-500/mt fob Iran.
With international iron ore prices (Australian 62pc Fe content) have reached a seven-year high at $137-139/mt cfr China. Chinese HRC prices were at $590-610/mt fob depending on the grade, gaining $40/mt in the last two weeks. Chinese producers offered domestic billets at CNY3,580/mt ex-Tangshan, down by CNY40/mt from a week ago.
Subcontinent
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Friday, settled at $383.24/mt cfr India subcontinent, up by $2.52/mt from Thursday. The Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $365.23/mt cfr India subcontinent, up by $1.86/mt from Thursday.
Japan domestic
Tokyo steel announced a third price hike in December. Effective Dec 5, Japan’s Tokyo Steel has raised ferrous scrap purchase prices by JPY1,000/mt ($9) for deliveries to Tahara and Okayama works, and by JPY500/mt ($5) at Utsunomiya works. Prices remained unchanged at the two other works. Revised bids for H2 were at JPY34,500/mt ($332/mt) del Tahara and JPY30,500/mt del Kanto.
($1=Rs73.97, JPY104.13)