Indian ferrous scrap importers on Tuesday were busy assessing the sharp rise in the bulk market in Turkey, and hence imports were slow in India. The market reopened after Diwali weekend break. As expected, prices jumped and are expected to maintain an uptrend.
In the domestic market, a recent announcement about auction of iron ore mines has given prices a boost amid short supply of iron ore, Pellets and Sponge iron. Demand for billet and rebar is likely to be bullish as interest in the export market was limited on Tuesday. Steel prices rose by Rs2,000-2,500/mt within a week.
In Turkey, the index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) on Monday was at $318/mt cfr Turkey with offers on Tuesday above $320/mt cfr Turkey. A strong appetite for imported scrap is likely to continue as many orders were received for billets and rebar by Turkish mills till January. Suppliers thus focused on catering to the Turkish and Southeast Asia bulk market and diverted supplies from Asian container markets.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded on Tuesday settled at $352.5/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $16.94/mt from Thursday, though there were no confirmed trades reported at these levels. Firm offers were above $355/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. These offer levels were last seen in December 2018. Traditionally, November and December witness sustained uptrend, and this year Indian imported scrap offers are expected to cross the two-year high.
Traders from the UAE raised HMS offers by $10-12/mt from last Friday. The Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $333/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $9/mt from Thursday. Offers for containerized #1 HMS without the cast and galvanized iron from Dubai were above $335-340/mt cfr Nhava Sheva on Tuesday, with a few deals reported at $335/mt cfr Nhava Sheva levels.
The Davis Index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $334.17/mt cfr Nhava Sheva on Tuesday, up by $9.17/mt from prior Thursday. Offers for the grade in containers were above $335/mt cfr Nhava Sheva amid short supply. Suppliers were offering bulk cargoes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $350-355/mt cfr Kandla, with buyers resisting to pay above $345/mt cfr Kandla. Bulk demand could recover for January shipments soon if domestic demand turns bullish.
In the export market, billet makers are targeting not lower than $465-470/mt fob with no deals to report at those levels yet. No supplier is ready to offer bulk volume amid expectations of higher realizations domestically. Chinese producers offered domestic billets at CNY3570-3580/mt ex-Tangshan, while rebar and HRC prices rose by $15-20/mt in a week.
Subcontinent
Limited container availability due to an import-export mismatch has pushed freight prices up for a few routes in South Asia. The rise in freight and holidays for some shipping lines in India on account of Diwali pushed the subcontinental index up.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Tuesday, settled at $354.84/mt cfr India subcontinent, up by $15.83/mt from Thursday. The Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $335.80/mt cfr India subcontinent, up by $9.58/mt from Thursday.
($1=Rs74.45)