Imported ferrous scrap prices in South Asian markets were flat to up on Monday. Many importers awaited clarity in the market direction before resorting to trades. Suppliers held on to their offers expecting strengthened global prices to persist. A few importers, however, anticipate prices to soften as Turkey mills may reduce bookings soon.
India
Anticipating an acute shortage of ferrous scrap in July-August, a few buyers in India resumed enquiries. Trades are still thin as mills continue to face a labour shortage. A few buyers are waiting for prices to reduce by $5-10/mt in the coming days before booking more volumes. The rising COVID-19 cases in a few major states also increased fears about the possibility of imposition of transport restrictions. The Davis Index for containerised shredded settled at $287/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $1/mt from Friday. Offers were at $287-290/mt cfr Nhava Sheva for material from the UK and Europe. Though buyers raised their bids, they still fell short of offers and were at $280/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
The Davis Index for UAE-origin containerised HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $273/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, unchanged from Friday.
The index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $273/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $3/mt from Friday. US suppliers raised offers following strengthening prices in Taiwan.
Indian currency INR stood at Rs76 against $1 on Monday, from Rs75.96 on Friday. Buyers thus opted for domestic scrap.
Pakistan
Market sentiment was positive due to favourable budgetary allocations for the steel industry in the national budget announced on June 12. The government has abolished additional customs duty (ACD) of 2pc on steel scrap imports, which could benefit importers as they project to save PKR1,000-1,200/mt in the coming days.
The Davis Index for US-origin containerized shredded settled flat at $292/mt cfr Port Qasim. No major trades were reported in the market. A few suppliers from the UK and Europe offered shredded at $294-295/mt cfr Port Qasim. Buyers continued to resist high offers. The Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) of UAE-origin settled at $274/mt cfr Qasim, up by $1/mt from Friday. A few trades were reported at the index price. There were limited sellers in the market due to the export ban imposed by the UAE government.
The index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $278/mt cfr Qasim, up by $2/mt from Friday. A few offers were at $280/mt cfr Qasim on Monday, with bids at $275/mt cfr Qasim.
Bangladesh
A sharp rise in COVID-19 cases last week raised fears of stringent lockdown measures and kept steel mills away from ferrous scrap purchases. Industry participants are waiting for clarity in implementation of the national budget announced last week. But mills with limited inventories in hand are expected to book containers this week.
The daily Davis Index for containerised shredded settled at $303/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $1/mt from Friday. Offers for shredded were unchanged from Friday at $305-310/mt cfr Chattogram with a few trades reported at $300-305/mt cfr Chattogram. )
The index for Latin America-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) inched up by $2/mt to $280/mt cfr Chattogram. Offers for Brazilian scrap were in the range of $280-285/mt cfr Chattogram.
Trades for Central and South American HMS 1&2 (80:20) concluded at $260-265/mt cfr Chattogram. The index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $286/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $1/mt from Friday. Some yards offered the grade at $290/mt cfr Chattogram citing limited availability and increased global prices.
East Asia
Taiwan
Imported ferrous scrap prices in Taiwan rose by $2/mt on Monday with the index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settling at $251/mt cfr Taiwan. Offers rose to $252-$255/mt cfr Taiwan. A rise in offers was driven by an increase in Turkish ferrous scrap imports.
Deals for South American origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) were heard at $235/mt cfr Kaosiung on Friday. Buyers looked to save input cost and thus preferred material from South American countries over North America and Australia. No trades were heard on Monday. Offers for Australian-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) were at $240-245/mt cfr Taiwan.
In small bulk markets, Japanese HMS 1&2 (50:50) was offered at $265-270/mt cfr Taiwan.
In the domestic market, Feng Hsin Steel in Southern region hiked domestic ferrous scrap purchase prices for HMS 1&2 (80:20) by NTD300/mt ($10/mt) from the prior week to NTD7,400/mt delivered Taichung plant. Traders are expecting steel scrap prices to soften driven bya fall in Japanese ferrous scrap prices as buyers are resisting trades at current over levels.
($1=NT$29.68)