Offers for imported ferrous scrap remained firm, but domestic scrap and Sponge iron prices registered a fall in India. Importers thus plan to hold back purchases since mills started turning towards domestic material. But supplies with most overseas yards are likely to be tight until January.
The weekly Davis Index for cast iron, rotors, and drums on Wednesday, settled at $378/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $15/mt, with a few containerized trades reported in the range $375-380/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Most suppliers refused to put out stocks of cast rotors and drums for sale as they anticipate prices to cross $400/mt cfr Nhava Sheva in the coming days.
Unavailability of containers also pushed up offer prices along with expectations of short supply and strong demand in the near term.
The Indian government is likely to earmark Rs60bn ($812mn) for the national infrastructure fund. In the long term this could spur steel demand in the real estate and infrastructure sectors.
The gap between domestic scrap and the landed prices for imported material has widened to Rs1,000/mt ($13.5/mt). Domestic HMS 1&2 (80:20) is priced at Rs25,500/mt del Mumbai consumer, while the landed prices for imported HMS 1&2 (80:20) is above Rs26,500/mt is at $350/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
In Turkey, the index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $339.5/mt cfr Turkey, gaining $11.5/mt from Nov 18. Demand for imported scrap is likely to persist as many Turkish mills focus on completing billet and rebar orders until Jan-Feb. Many supplier countries, therefore, focussed on catering to the Turkish demand.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded on Wednesday settled at $362.5/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $0.31/mt from Tuesday. Suppliers from the US and UK continued to offer the material at prices above $365/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, which are at a two-year high.
Traders from the UAE raised HMS offers amid active demand from Indian buyers. The Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $349/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $1/mt from Tuesday. A few trades for the grade by North region-based re-rollers reported around index prices on Wednesday. Offers for containerized #1 HMS without the cast and galvanized iron from Dubai were at $360/mt cfr Nhava Sheva on Wednesday, with a few deals reported at $355/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
The Davis Index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $348.33/mt cfr Nhava Sheva on Wednesday, up by $1.19/mt from Tuesday. Only a few offers for the grade in containers were at prices above $348-350/mt cfr Nhava Sheva amid short supply.
Chinese finished steel prices ended their rally, but imported ferrous scrap prices could remain firm. In the export market, billet makers from Vietnam and CIS are offering material at prices above $495-500/mt cfr SE Asia and China. No supplier is ready to offer bulk cargoes from India amid expectations of higher realization in the domestic market.
Chinese producers offered domestic billets at CNY3,570/mt ex-Tangshan, down by CNY10/mt from a day ago.
Some Indian buyers booked cautiously amid worries of a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in some regions. Lowering steel futures in China also added to exporters’ worries.
Subcontinent
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Wednesday, settled at $363.39/mt cfr India subcontinent, up by $0.25/mt from Tuesday. The Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $347.15/mt cfr India subcontinent, up by $1.33/mt from Tuesday. ($1=Rs74.00)