Offers for imported ferrous scrap remained firm but domestic scrap, and Sponge iron trended flat to down on Thursday. Bookings have slowed as offers have risen by $40/mt since early November, steering mills towards domestic materials. A few states in the country are dealing with renewed COVID-19 restrictions which could hamper finished steel demand.
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. However, for the upcoming weeks, the pace of recovery is expected to remain slow.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded on Thursday settled at $364.06/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $1.56/mt from Wednesday. Offers for shredded from the US, Australia, and UK/EU at prices in the range of $365-370/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, have reached a 28-month peak. Trades, though, were limited.
The Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $350/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $1/mt from Wednesday. Mills’ bids were lagging at $340/mt due to a weak domestic market. Offers for containerized #1 HMS without the cast and galvanized iron from Dubai were at $355-360/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, with a few deals reported at $350/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
The Davis Index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $351.46/mt cfr Nhava Sheva on Thursday, up by $3.13/mt from Wednesday. Offers from the US suppliers were very limited ahead of the Thanksgiving holidays beginning November 26. Only a few offers for the grade in containers were at prices above $350/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Shipping lines rejecting deliveries due to container shortage along with vessel delays resulted in order cancellations.
A few trades for Australia and the UK-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) were at $345-350/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, with suppliers holding onto material expecting a $10/mt hike in the coming days.
Chinese finished steel prices ended their rally. Indian mills stayed away from bulk billet exports amid expectations of higher realization in the domestic market. Chinese producers offered domestic billets at CNY3,590/mt ex-Tangshan, up by CNY20/mt from a day ago.
In Turkey, the index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $346.3/mt cfr Turkey, gaining $6.3/mt in a day with deals reported for material from Russian and Baltic regions. 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, focused on catering to the Turkish demand.
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.
Subcontinent
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Thursday, settled at $364.8/mt cfr India subcontinent, up by $2.41/mt from Wednesday. The Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $350.28/mt cfr India subcontinent, up by $3.13/mt from Wednesday.
($1=Rs73.86)