Imported ferrous scrap prices inched up on Monday amid few trades reported over the weekend. Offers increased after a couple of bulk cargoes were booked by Turkish mills. With the resumption of bookings in Turkey, traders and suppliers were unwilling to lower their prices. On Monday, offers in the Pakistan and Bangladesh markets inched up by $2-3/mt from Friday.
Buyers, however, are waiting for more deals to conclude for a clear price direction. Mills continued to struggle with weak domestic steel demand.
In Turkey, US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) bulk prices averaged at around $295/mt cfr Turkey, largely unchanged on Friday. The possibility of trades for Baltic-origin HMS (80:20) in bulk cargoes materializing at the current price levels seems remote as suppliers targeted $300/mt cfr Turkey levels for the next round of negotiations expected over this week.
Pakistan
Imported scrap prices recovered over the weekend with the conclusion of Turkish bulk deals despite weak domestic demand. But mills are now anticipating demand revival by mid-October when mills could enter the market for restocking after a month-long hiatus.
The possibility of flat steel dumping, especially HRC by Chinese manufacturers has also dampened market sentiment.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Monday, settled at $310.85/mt cfr Port Qasim, up by $1.99/mt from Friday. A few containerized shredded scrap deals were reported at $310-312/mt cfr Port Qasim on Friday and Saturday. Later, however, yards revoked offers hoping to raise their asking price. Bids by secondary steelmakers for the grade were at $305-307/mt cfr Port Qasim,with finished steel sales remaining hit in the country.
The Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $295/mt cfr Port Qasim on Monday. Buyers kept their bids for HMS at $290-295/mt cfr Port Qasim. Trades for UAE-origin mixed #1 HMS and P&S sarya scrap were reported at $300/mt cfr Port Qasim on Monday. GI scrap bundles traded at $310-315/mt cfr Port Qasim.
The index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $294.29/mt cfr Port Qasim, up by $0.29/mt. Buyers mostly stayed away from trades on Monday. Most US-based yards were unwilling to offer large volumes citing expectations of a stronger market in October. Offers were at $300/mt cfr Port Qasim against bids of $290/mt cfr.
In the domestic market, Bala billet prices moved up as trades started picking up on Monday. Prices increased by PKR300-500/mt to PKR91,200-91,500/mt ex-works Punjab on Monday. Domestic Pure Q toke scrap equivalent to shredded traded at PKR71,000-71,500/mt delivered Lahore plant, unchanged from last week. Weakened demand for finished steel and slower recovery in infrastructure projects prevented domestic prices from gaining momentum.
Major mills were under pressure to liquidate their inventories and offered heavy discounts on rebar prices. Trades for rebar were reported at PKR109,000-110,000/mt ex-works Karachi.
Bangladesh
Mills in Bangladesh have been taking it slow amid limited domestic support. Many major mills sought the government’s help to overcome the losses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic as they believe demand is unlikely to recover before November.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Monday, was at $324.29/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $3.29/mt from Friday. Prices have been under pressure with buyers staying away from major bookings for over a month. A few deals for shredded from Australia and New Zealand concluded at $320-323/mt cfr Chattogram. The scrap grade from the UK traded at $325/mt cfr Chattogram against offers of $330/mt cfr last week.
P&S scrap was offered at $315-320/mt cfr Chattogram on Monday, against bids of $310/mt cfr.
In the bulk market, suppliers from the US West Coast kept offers for HMS 1&2 (80:20) unchanged at $320-325/mt cfr Chattogram, with no major trades.
The index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) in containers settled at $307.75/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $2.75/mt from Friday. Sellers offered HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $310-315/mt cfr Chattogram, while bids were not over $305/mt cfr Chattogram on Monday. Major mills have enough inventories to fulfill their orders and appetite for imported scrap could remain weak till November, said a trader.
The index for Latin America-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $306/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $1/mt from Friday. Offers were scarce and most Brazilian traders sought $305-310/mt cfr Chattogram for HMS 1&2 (80:20). Brazilian yards offered #1 HMS at $310-315/mt cfr Chattogram directly to mills. But mills booked the grade at prices not above $305-307/mt cfr Chattogram. Small-scale furnaces looked to buy Indian sponge iron and imported HMS scrap at prices not more than $300/mt cfr Chattogram.
Domestic shipbreaking scrap equivalent to P&S traded at BDT30,500-31,000/mt delivered mill on Monday, unchanged from Friday. HMS 1&2 (80:20) was priced at BDT28,500-29,200/mt ex-Chattogram. The index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at BDT29,000/mt ex- Bangladesh yard, unchanged from Friday.
Domestic small and medium scale mills expect a drop in billet prices by BDT1,000-1,500/mt in the coming days after remaining flat for over a month. Domestic billets were priced at BDT41,000/mt ex-works on Monday. Small-scale producers offered rebar at BDT49,000-49,500/mt ex-works while medium-scale mills sold rebar at BDT50,000/mt ex-works.
($1= PKR166.31; BDT84.95)