Imported ferrous scrap bids opened lowered this week in Pakistan and Bangladesh than the prior week. Most participants indicate the market as ‘soft’ with limited trades. The possibility of a price increase in the EU/the US domestic markets in October still kept many suppliers away from offering much at lower prices. Buyers, on the other hand, expect prices to drop sharply.
Bangladesh
Bangladeshi importers resumed trades in containers as offers started to meet their desired bids this week. While a few mills lowered bids further on Tuesday following global cues and as buyers are unwilling to pay high on weak end-user demand.
A major mill negotiated a bulk deal late last week, according to Davis Index sources with details awaited.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded Tuesday was at $325.92/mt cfr Chattogram, down $0.64/mt from Monday. The price sentiments remained mixed. A few deals for shredded from Australia and New Zealand concluded at $320-325/mt cfr Chattogram on Tuesday. Domestic demand remains subdued in Bangladesh and most steelmakers are struggling with cash flow crunch. Transportation activities were disturbed due to heavy rain in the outskirts of Dhaka.
In the bulk market, US West Coast suppliers offered HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $325/mt cfr Chattogram, $10/mt lower than the prior week, with a possibility of downward movement.
The index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) Tuesday settled at $308.93/mt cfr Chattogram, down $1.64/mt from Monday. Sellers offered HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $315/mt cfr Chattogram, while bids were at $305-308/mt cfr Chattogram on Tuesday.
The index for Latin America-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $303/mt cfr Chattogram, down $2/mt from Monday. Most Brazilian traders sought HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $305-310/mt cfr Chattogram while offers remained scarce. Brazilian yards offered #1 HMS at $310-315/mt cfr Chattogram to direct mills on Tuesday.
Limited supply kept Bangladeshi domestic ferrous scrap prices stable after rising. Shipbreaking scrap equivalent to P&S was offered at BDT31,000/mt del mill from a week earlier, while HMS 1&2 (80:20) traded at BDT29,000/mt ex-Chattogram, flat from Friday.
Billet offers were stable at BDT41,000/mt ex-works, range-bound for the past few weeks. Amid weak domestic demand, most steelmakers expect steel prices to drop further in the coming days. Small scale producers offered rebar at BDT49,000-49,500/mt ex-works while medium-scale mills sold rebar at BDT50,000-50,500/mt ex-yards.
Pakistan
Imported scrap prices continued to drop in Pakistan as finished steel demand remains weak. Limited supply encouraged traders to book imported scrap in containers but in limited qualities. The possibility of dumping of finished steel from China at lower prices brought sentiments further down and buyers prefer not to book more materials to avoid risks. Also, the country’s National Tariff Commission (NTC) has proposed a reduction in tariff on imports of finished and semi-finished steel products.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded Tuesday settled at $314.79/mt cfr Port Qasim, down $2/mt from Monday. A few containerised deals of shredded scrap were reported at $312-315/mt cfr Qasim, though most yards have revoked their offers citing these low levels to be non-workable amid short supply. The disparity between bids and offers resulted in limited trades on Tuesday. Mills were making every attempt to find cheaper priced containers with bids around $310/mt cfr Qasim on Tuesday before the prices recover in October.
The Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $301/mt cfr Port Qasim, up $1/mt from Monday but losing $10/mt from a week earlier. Buyers lowered bids for HMS scrap, in line with falling shredded scrap prices in the range $290-300/mt cfr Port Qasim. Trades for UAE-origin mixed #1 HMS and P&S sarya scrap reported at $305-310/mt cfr Port Qasim. GI scrap bundles traded at $315-320/mt cfr Qasim.
A few trades of LMS scrap reported at $315/mt cfr Qasim. The index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $298.21/mt cfr Port Qasim, up $0.46/mt. Most US based yards increased export offers citing a stronger market in October. Offers were at $300-305/mt cfr Qasim on Tuesday while bids went up to $295/mt cfr Qasim.
In the domestic market, Bala billet prices remained stable with limited trades being concluded. Prices were at PKR91,000-91,500/mt ex-works Punjab. Domestic Pure Q toke scrap equivalent to shredded traded at PKR71,000-71,500/mt ex-works Lahore. Buyers delayed deals due to a cash crunch.
Rebar trades concluded at discounted levels around index prices against offers of PKR110,000/mt ex-works Karachi this week. The weekly Davis Index for G-60 rebar settled flat Friday at PKR108,500/mt ($652.5/mt) ex-works Karachi from the prior week. Finished steel prices in Southern Pakistan were under pressure as leading steelmakers offered discounts to liquidate inventories.
($1= PKR166.35; BDT84.89)