Indian imported ferrous scrap buyers reduced bids amid weak domestic demand and falling semi-finished steel prices. Chinese government’s stance to control the steel prices has impacted sentiments in India while indications of firm Turkish prices, forced buyers to seek clarity on direction as opinions were divided on Monday.
The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Monday, was at $491/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, down $2/mt. Offers for HMS #1 from Dubai are firm above $495-500/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
Offers for containerized shredded declined by $5/mt to $515-520/mt cfr Nhava Sheva on Friday. The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Monday, settled at $513.75/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, down $0.39/mt from Friday. Bids below $510/mt cfr Nhava Sheva as most buyers opted to step back until the steel market revives.
The index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Monday, settled at $496.07/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, down $1.43/mt as bids lagged on weak domestic fundamentals. Some mills showed interest in loaded HMS at $480-485/mt cfr Nhava Sheva and Mundra. Many were unwilling to opt for long transit deliveries amid the non-availability of containers and severe logistical challenges.
On Monday, melting scrap offers in Alang rose to Rs39,000/mt ex-yards, up by Rs1,000/mt from Saturday driven by supply shortages. In Mumbai, rebar prices were stable at Rs49,200/mt ex-works, while ingot offers in the Mandi Govindgarh rose to Rs44,800/mt ex-works. Mixed sentiments in the domestic market kept trades slow, however, buying is soon expected to pick up on limited inventories on hand.
In China, domestic billet prices continued to drop and reached CNY4,920/mt ($765/mt) ex-Tangshan, including VAT, down CNY150/mt from Friday’s close. In the spot market, rebar prices dropped by CNY21/mt to CNY4,910/mt ex-works. HRC prices declined by CNY230/mt to CNY5,450/mt ex-works on Monday. Amid falling steel prices, mills resisted high raw material offers. Spot iron ore prices for 62pc Fe settled at $200.9/mt cfr China.
Subcontinent
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Monday, settled at $517.71/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, down by $0.5/mt; while that for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $501.49/mt cfr Indian subcontinent, down $1.17/mt from Friday.
On weekly normalised comparison, the containerized freight rates maintained by Davis Index were unchanged at $49.44/mt, $53.73/mt, and $81.68/mt from New York port to India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, respectively as updated on May 21. Container availability is expected to ease out gradually in the coming days.
($1=Rs72.9)