Most mills in India either chose to stay away from seaborne scrap trades or bid $20-30/mt lower than present offer levels. Only a few stainless steel producers were willing to buy shredded scrap at present offer levels.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Thursday, settled at $402.5/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, down by $0.63/mt from Wednesday. Buyers largely chose to stay silent citing a wide price gap between imported and domestic material. Most suppliers were unwilling to offer shredded below $405-410/mt cfr Nhava Sheva amid increased container freight rates and increased processing costs.
Turkish domestic ferrous scrap is under pressure for the last two days with the index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) dropping by $1.25/mt to $397.5/mt cfr Turkey. South Asian buyers hope the price decline in Turkey will also pull-down offer prices in their region.
The Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Thursday, was at $345/cfr Nhava Sheva, down $1/mt from Wednesday. Offers for HMS #1 were at $360-365/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. A few mills in Jalna and Kutch booked containers of Dubai-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $340/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Other steelmakers were looking for material priced up to $315-320/mt cfr Nhava Sheva levels.
Sellers were unwilling to accept bids for Turning scrap from Mundra-based mills of $290-300/mt cfr Mundra. The daily Davis Index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Thursday, was at $361.25/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, down $0.75/mt. Domestic HMS 1&2 (80:20) was unchanged at Rs26,500/mt delivered Mumbai mill on Wednesday and remained competitive against imported material.
In China, steel prices were mixed ahead of the spring festival. Market participants are uncertain about the price direction after the holidays. Prices for Q235 150mm square billets prices in China were unchanged at CNY3,850/mt ex-works Tangshan, including 13pc VAT. On Thursday, spot imported prices for iron ore Fe 62pc content rose by $6.36/mt to $156/mt cfr China. Amid rising futures and traders taking position ahead of approaching holidays, prices are likely to increase further.
Subcontinent
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Thursday, settled at $394.53/mt cfr India subcontinent, down by $1.5/mt. The daily index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $362.37/mt cfr India subcontinent, down by $1.5/mt.
($1=Rs72.96)