Shipbreaking scrap prices continued to decline on Thursday amid low demand from the local mills. Activities have picked up in Gujarat now that cyclone Tauktae has passed. Yard owners in Alang are expecting normalcy in trades in next 2-3 days after issues like power cut and waterlogging in the nearby areas are resolved.
Yards reduced offers to attract bids, however, deals were very few. The daily Davis Indexes for 4Ani and 6Ani declined by Rs600/mt ($8.20/mt) each to Rs40,000/mt and Rs40,500/mt ex-Alang, respectively.
Markets in Mandi Gobindgarh, a major consumer of shipbreaking scrap, also saw low demand from the rolling mills due to production cuts.
The daily Davis Indexes for 12Ani and 14Ani declined by Rs600/mt each to Rs40,500/mt ex-Alang.
Demand from the construction segment has been low due to lockdowns. Slowdown in gas cutting activities in Alang has resulted in shortage of material, which kept ship plate prices flat. The indexes for 1kg plates and 2kg plates settled flat at Rs40,200/mt and Rs41,200/mt ex-Alang, respectively.
Traders expect ferrous scrap prices to remain under pressure till domestic sales of finished products improve. Mills were trying to focus on the export markets since past few weeks but lately, bids for Indian billet have seen a decline amid fall in the Chinese steel market.
The daily Davis Indexes for HMS attachments and Melting declined by Rs500/mt to Rs39,500/mt and Rs38,500/mt ex-Alang, respectively.
($1=Rs73.1)