The resumption of bulk ferrous scrap trades in Turkey and restocking of scrap inventories by South Asian mills pushed up imported scrap prices in the region. Prices inched up on a daily basis this week. Pakistani buyers continued shredded scrap bookings in containers while Bangladeshi mills preferred lower-priced HMS scrap amid limited domestic steel support. Most steelmakers believe the gradual resumption of infrastructural projects will create demand from end-users and thus, preferred to restock inventories accordingly.
Pakistan
Pakistan ferrous scrap importers booked some containers for their immediate needs on Thursday. A partial resumption in mega infrastructure projects will improve steel demand in the country.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Thursday, rose by $0.59/mt to settle at $315.73/mt cfr Port Qasim. Several trades for UK-origin shredded in containers were heard at $315-316/mt cfr Port Qasim. A few offers rose to $318-320/mt cfr Port Qasim following global cues. Suppliers and traders anticipate Pakistan mills could continue restocking as the prices are expected to rise further.
Dubai-origin #1 HMS scrap in containers traded at $310-312/mt cfr Port Qasim. Offers for PNS sarya scrap were at $313-315/mt cfr. The Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $303/mt cfr Port Qasim, up by $2/mt from Wednesday. Mills chose to buy shredded over HMS scrap this week. Offers from South American ferrous scrap suppliers were at $295-300/mt cfr Qasim. Most Brazilian yards preferred to sell in the domestic markets.
The index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $305.29/mt cfr Port Qasim, up by $3/mt from Wednesday. In the domestic market, Bala billet prices were flat on weak demand at PKR90,000-90,200/mt ex-works Punjab.
Domestic scrap declines
Domestic Pure Q toke scrap, equivalent to shredded sold at PKR68,500-69,000/mt del Lahore mill, down by PKR500/mt from the prior day. Most mills preferred imported scrap over domestic material due to the appreciation of Pakistani currency to PKR161.3 against $1 from PKR162.5 last week. Leading rebar producers in Karachi offered material at PKR110,000-111,000/mt ex-works.
Bangladesh
Bangladeshi mills stayed away from the bulk market and purchased scrap in containers on a need basis. A mill in Chattogram, however, resorted to active trading as it gears to commence production at a new facility. The mill, after purchasing cargoes from Australia and Japan last week, is still keen on booking containers.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Thursday, settled at $325.86/mt cfr Chattogram up by $1.36/mt. Offers on Thursday were majorly at $328-330/mt cfr Chattogram while a few trades closed at $320-323/mt cfr Chattogram. Australia and UK-based suppliers, however, refused to lower their offers below $328-330/mt cfr Chattogram citing a supply crunch.
In the bulk market, West Coast US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) offers were at $320/mt cfr Chattogram, up $5-7/mt from the last bulk deal reported in the prior week.
The daily index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Thursday, settled at $315.5/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $2.5/mt. Trades for the UK and US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) reported at $315-318/mt cfr Chattogram on Thursday. The index for Latin America-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $311/mt cfr Chattogram, up $2/mt from Wednesday. South American yards sold HMS #1 and HMS 1&2 (90:10) at $315/mt cfr Chattogram on Wednesday. Bangladeshi buyers had to pay higher in line with rising demand and prices in India.
Domestic shipbreaking scrap equivalent to P&S traded at BDT31,000/mt ex-yard Chattogram. HMS 1&2 (80:20) was priced at BDT28,500-29,000/mt ex-yard Chattogram, unchanged from late last week. Dhaka-based finished steel producers sold rebars at BDT48,500/mt ex-works, down BDT500/mt from the prior week. Most mills struggled to stay profitable and may curtail production and have even cancelled discounts on rebar and billets.
($1= PKR162.05; BDT84.8)