The weekly Davis Index for cast iron, rotors and drums, Wednesday, settled at $524/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, down $3/mt from Aug 25. Active bookings for the grade from the UK/EU reported at $520-525/mt cfr Nhava Sheva before buyers turned a bit resistive to higher offers. On Wednesday, most sellers said tight supply of scrap and empty containers could push offers up further.
In the domestic market, cast iron toka scrap Wednesday rose to Rs35,800/mt delivered Mandi Govindgarh, up by Rs200/mt from Tuesday, but down Rs200/mt from prior Wednesday. Imported cast scrap offered at Rs36,600/mt ($498/mt) delivered mills, down Rs400/mt from Aug 25.
Pig iron offers in north India for steel grade were at Rs40,800/mt delivered basis, down Rs500/mt from Aug 25. Those for foundry grade were firm at Rs43,700/mt delivered Ludhiana on Wednesday.
Buying inquiries of for imported ferrous scrap grades such as shredded, P&S and busheling remain subdued due to a wide gap between offers and bids from Indian buyers. Despite low inventories, most mills delayed restocking imported scrap and preferred domestic purchases at competitive prices.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Wednesday, settled at $521.25/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, down $2/mt. Alloy makers showed limited interest in imported shredded.
Indian rupee remained around Rs73 against the US dollar on Wednesday compared to Friday’s close of 74.25 boosting importers sentiments.
The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $470/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, down $2/mt. The market expects a pick-up in restocking as soon as the monsoon recedes and before activities slowdown again in October-November due to festivities. For UAE-origin #1 HMS offers were around $480-485/mt cfr Nhava Sheva while trades heard at $475-480/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
Demand in the Alang shipbreaking market, Wednesday, was weak, although tight supply pushed asking rates up by Rs500/mt to Rs36,700/mt ex-yards for melting scrap. In Mumbai, the asking prices for rebar dropped by another Rs300/mt to Rs48,500/mt ex-works on slow sales.
In Mandi Gobindgarh, ingots traded at Rs45,200/mt ex-works Wednesday, higher by Rs600/mt from a day prior. Mixed cues from the domestic markets, forced importers to book materials to meet requirements.
On Tuesday, the daily spot prices of Fe 62pc iron ore dropped below $152.6/dmt cfr North China, down $5.15/mt. The international iron ore futures on Wednesday extended its drop by around 5pc to reach CNY800/dmt which impacted sentiments. Domestic finished steel spot prices in China dropped CNY100/mt ($15/mt) on Wednesday.
The daily domestic billet price in China on Wednesday was down CNY20/mt to CNY5,000/mt ($773/mt) ex-Tangshan inclusive of VAT. Offers for imported billet in China and Southeast Asia were unchanged at $680-685/mt cfr with no new deal reported.
Subcontinent
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded on Wednesday, settled at $523.63/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, down by $1.42/mt; while that for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $484.63/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, down by $0.63/mt.
($1=Rs72.96; CNY6.46)