Indian mills stayed largely away from high-grade ferrous scrap bookings opting for HMS scrap in limited volume. On Tuesday, the domestic market showed mixed trends as most participants were gauging the short-term impact of the union budget, including the government’s announcement of lowering of import duties on ferrous scrap.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Tuesday, settled at $406.88/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, down by $4.62/mt from Monday. Buyers stayed silent after a few containerized shredded deals from the UK and Europe at $410-415/mt cfr Nhava Sheva last week.
Mills were unwilling to book shredded above $400-405/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Secondary steelmakers state the price gap between the imported and domestic material is still very wide and expect prices to drop further.
Scrap consumers in India have welcomed the move of slashing import duty of 2.5pc on steel scrap and the voluntary vehicle scrappage policy. These announcements, however, had no immediate impact on the demand for finished steel and imported scrap prices in India. Instead, prices of rebar in Mumbai and Gujarat dropped by Rs500/mt to Rs42,000-42,500/mt ex-works.
In the finished flat-steel market, JSW steel kept its prices unchanged for February deliveries at Rs54,500-55,000/mt ex-works Mumbai for HRC. Auto demand is likely to remain firm for another couple of months in the country.
On Tuesday, Turkish domestic ferrous scrap prices dropped by $10-15/mt from the prior week. Some market participants believe there is room for scrap prices to drop further and reach below $400/mt cfr Turkey as buyers in China and South Korea could slow down purchases. Shipbreaking scrap prices were below $390-395/mt ex-Turkey yards on Tuesday.
The Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Tuesday, was at $349/cfr Nhava Sheva, down $6/mt from Monday. Offers for HMS #1, were at $365-370/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. A few mills in Jalna and Kutch booked containers of Dubai-origin HMS at prices ranging from $340-350/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
The daily Davis Index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Tuesday, was at $362.5/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, down $4.29/mt. Domestic scrap equivalent was unchanged at Rs26,500/mt delivered Mumbai mill on Tuesday and remained competitive against imported material.
In China, ahead of the spring festival, prices remained mixed. On Tuesday, Q235 150mm square billets prices in China dropped by CNY10/mt to CNY3,850/mt ex-works Tangshan including 13pc VAT. Spot prices for Fe 62pc content iron ore were at $156.5/mt cfr China amid weak futures and easing supply.
Subcontinent
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Tuesday, settled at $399.50/mt cfr India subcontinent, down by $4.44/mt. The daily index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $365.08/mt cfr India subcontinent, down by $4.53/mt.
($1=Rs72.99)