Indian buyers actively booked imported HMS scrap amid strengthening domestic and international steel prices. Most buyers intend to secure material before offers move up further. Steel prices remained bullish keeping demand strong for imported scrap.
But the rising COVID-19 tally, despite rigorous inoculation drive, made mills wary of prices sustaining in the near term.
Primary steelmakers have announced price hikes for both flat and long steel products. If the market absorbs this price hike, there could be a further rise in domestic steel prices, boosting ferrous scrap imports in India. Historically, scrap imports are known to rise in April. Traders hope the trend would persist this year too.
Demand for shredded remains limited in India. Offers for the grade were in the range of $460-465/mt cfr Nhava Sheva hitting a one-month high. Most suppliers preferred to sell shredded in Pakistan where mills are paying $5-10/mt higher than Indian buyers. Mills in India found present prices unworkable. The Davis Index for containerized shredded settled unchanged at $455/mt cfr Nhava Sheva from Monday.
The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Tuesday, settled at $426/cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $1/mt. Dubai-origin HMS #1 traded at $435/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, with offers at $440/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. All three subcontinental markets competed to secure material from the region where supply is known to tighten during the Ramadan festival. From West Africa, offers for cast iron engine scrap were at $430-435/mt cfr Goa, with buyers around $420-425/mt cfr Goa on Tuesday.
The index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) Tuesday settled at $426.25/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, unchanged from a day prior. Offers for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from the UK and Australia were at $425-435/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. A Chennai-based rebar maker was heard to have booked Australian HMS 1&2 (80:20) in containers at $430/mt cfr Chennai on Monday, with offers rising further on Tuesday. The shortage of chips has forced many auto plants to shut down, lowering the availability of prime grades, and the gap between busheling and HMS 1&2 (80:20) widened to $60-70/mt from $40-50/mt earlier.
On Tuesday, melting scrap offers in Alang remained unchanged at Rs32,700/mt ex-yards. Amid the fear over the resurgence of COVID-19, workers refused to work full time. In Mumbai, rebar prices were unchanged at Rs48,100/mt ex-works. Ingot prices in the Mandi Govindgarh rose to a record high of Rs44,500/mt ex-works, boosting sentiment for ferrous scrap bookings.
Most participants await clarity on repercussions of the renewed social distancing restrictions, including night curfews, especially in the key states like Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu among others.
In China, the steel market reopened on Tuesday after the Qingming holidays. Spot imported iron ore 62pc ferrous content prices were above $168/mt cfr North China on Monday with a possibility of further rise in the coming days. Domestic billet prices remained at twelve and half years high, rising by CNY30/mt to CNY5,020/mt ex-Tangshan, including 13pc VAT. Domestic rebar prices hit a nine-year high in the retail market, surpassing CNY5,050/mt ex-works.
Subcontinent
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded Tuesday settled unchanged at $446.76/mt cfr Indian subcontinent; while that for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $420.76/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, up by $0.69/mt from Monday.
Weekly containerized freight rates maintained by Davis Index showed a rise of $10-15/mt to $55.41/mt, $76.19/mt, and $85.53/mt from New York to India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, respectively.
($1=Rs72.49)