Indian buyers were silent for imported ferrous scrap bookings on low domestic demand. A disparity between bids and offers kept trading limited. Strong steel prices in the US and European domestic markets supported sellers in those regions to raise ferrous scrap offers. Indian mills preferred UAE and African HMS for their immediate requirements.
In the export market, Indian mills were optimistic until Monday for better prices on the back of Russia levying an export tax. But HRC offers from Russia declined with a deal heard at around $860/mt cfr Vietnam. Indian HRC export prices could, therefore, fall this week. For billet, mills targeted kept asking prices at $600-605/mt fob India, or $665-675/mt cfr China and Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, domestic steel demand remains affected because of the Monsoon rains and rising fears over the third wave of COVID-19.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Tuesday, rose by $2.75/mt to settle at $531.75/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Offers were firm above $535/mt cfr Nhava Sheva amid improving bids in Pakistan. Except for stainless steelmakers, most buyers were only interested in prices below $520/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
The daily Davis Index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) on Tuesday was unchanged at $493.75/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
For UAE-origin #1 HMS, offers gained $5/mt to $495-500/mt cfr Chennai. The daily index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) remained unchanged at $473/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Offers were unchanged at $475/mt cfr Mundra. Secondary furnaces actively searched for lower-priced HMS and kept their bids at $450-455/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. But sellers stayed away from offering material at those levels.
In Alang, melting scrap prices on Tuesday declined by Rs300/mt to Rs35,000/mt ex-yards. In Mumbai, rebar prices remained unchanged for five successive days on subdued demand at Rs45,800/mt ex-works. In Mandi Gobindgarh, the index for ingot dropped by Rs1,000/mt to Rs42,300/mt ex-works. Weaker domestic demand kept purchases slower while many states have announced a new round of restrictions to curb the COVID-19 delta variant spread.
In China, domestic steel prices stabilized after a gradual recovery in the last couple of days. On Tuesday, billet prices were at $4,860/mt ex Tangshan inclusive of VAT. Iron ore prices for ferrous content 62pc recovered to $220/mt cfr North China, with a likelihood of a marginal drop on Tuesday.
Subcontinent
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Tuesday, settled at $535.82/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, up by $1.72/mt; while that for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $499/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, up by $0.75/mt from Monday.
($1=Rs74.20)