Indian imported ferrous scrap bids stayed on a downtrend followed by weak demand and soft domestic steel prices. Rebar and ingot prices declined by Rs500/mt ($7/mt) in the last two days while an increase in the availability of domestic ferrous scrap has affected importers’ buying appetite.
Most mills delayed the purchase of imported scrap despite low inventories and preferred domestic purchases at competitive prices. Sellers were unwilling to make purchases and held materials while they awaited clarity on potential freight rate hikes.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Thursday, settled unchanged at $521.25/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Trades for imported shredded in India remained limited as buyer-interests lagged below $515/mt cfr Nhava Sheva for shredded and $460-465/mt cfr for the UAE origin HMS.
The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $468/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, down $2/mt. Market participants expected an increase in sale as mills could restock inventories as monsoon recedes. A slight slowdown is expected during October-November during the festive season.
For UAE-origin #1 HMS offers were around $480-485/mt cfr Nhava Sheva while trades at $475-480/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
Demand in the Alang shipbreaking market, Thursday, was weak which weighed on the asking rates by Rs400/mt to Rs36,300/mt ex-yards for melting scrap. In Mumbai, the asking prices for rebar dropped by another Rs200/mt to Rs48,300/mt ex-works on slow sales.
In Mandi Gobindgarh, ingots traded at Rs44,800/mt ex-works Thursday, down by Rs400/mt from a day prior. Weak domestic cues forced importers to book materials on a need basis.
On Wednesday, the daily spot prices of Fe 62pc iron ore dropped to $143.5/dmt cfr North China, down over $9/mt in a day. The most traded iron ore futures for September rebounded on Thursday to reach CNY895/dmt which pushed spot prices above $145/mt cfr China. Domestic finished steel spot prices in China recovered by CNY30/mt ($5/mt) on Thursday on slight recovery in demand.
The daily domestic billet price in China on Thursday recovered by CNY20/mt to CNY5,020/mt ($777/mt) ex-Tangshan inclusive of VAT. Offers for imported billet in China and Southeast Asia were unchanged at $680-685/mt cfr and no new deals were reported.
Subcontinent
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded on Wednesday, settled at $523.75/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, up by $0.13/mt; while that for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $483.50/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, down by $1.13/mt.
($1=Rs73.04; CNY6.46)