Mills shied away from trades amid firm offers for HMS and shredded on Monday. Demand could recover in mid-August due to slower domestic generation and low ferrous scrap inventories in hand.
A drop of over Rs1,000/mt in domestic scrap prices dented the buying interest of Indian ferrous scrap importers on Monday. Importers had returned to market refill inventories.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded on Monday inched up by $1.25/mt to $526.25/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, amid few offers above $530/mt cfr. Buyers remained silent but could resume trades on low inventories. A decline in prices of low and medium grades in supplier countries dragged down prices.
The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose $3/mt to $478/mt cfr Nhava Sheva on Monday as offers remained firm. For the UAE-origin #1 HMS, offers were stable at $485-490/mt cfr Nhava Sheva on Monday. US sellers held offers as demand for HMS recovered.
The Davis Index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) increased by $1.25/mt at $480/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
Prices for domestic HMS 1&2 (80:20) dropped by Rs1,000/mt since Friday to Rs35,000/mt ($471/mt) delivered Mumbai. Imported HMS 1&2 (80:20) offers remained firm as supplies tightened. As a result, mills stayed away from imported scrap which fetches an additional $25-30/mt including port handling and local transport costs for landed plant deliveries.
Trading in Alang’s shipbreaking market remained shut due to the ongoing transporters’ strike. In Mumbai, the asking prices for rebar on Monday dropped by Rs400/mt from Friday to around Rs49,500/mt ex-works. In Mandi Gobindgarh, ingot traded at Rs45,200/mt ex-works, registering a slight drop by Rs400/mt following a decline in prices in China.
Interest for imported ferrous scrap remained low as participants await clarity on global trends. Sentiment and inquiries remained steady.
International iron ore Fe 62pc prices recovered by $1.15/dmt to $171.2/dmt cfr North China on Friday as compared to the previous day. Iron ore futures on Monday recorded a further drop leading to few spot trades.
The daily domestic billet price in China stabilised at CNY5,080/mt ($785/mt) ex-Tangshan inclusive of VAT on Monday.
Subcontinent
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded on Friday, settled at $529/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, up by $1/mt; while that for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $487.63/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, up by $0.5/mt.
On the New York to South Asia route, normalized weekly container freight rates inched up on Friday to $85.4/mt, $51.74/mt, and $47.01/mt for shipments to Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India, respectively.
($1=Rs74.24; CNY6.47)