Imported ferrous scrap offers in Bangladesh remained unchanged however bids continued to soften amid weak domestic steel sales. Mills eyed a price hikes for domestic rebar, however, due to weak sales they failed to pass high input costs to end-users.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Tuesday, was unchanged at $537.5/mt cfr Chattogram. Bids lagged at below $535/mt cfr Chattogram. Trades are also impacted by unavailability of containers.
The containerised freight gap between the US east coast port to Pakistan and Bangladesh routes have broadened above $35/mt against the usual of $20/mt. As a result, yards preferred selling shredded to Pakistan than Bangladesh.
Mills in Bangladesh showed increasing appetite for HMS and P&S as scrap inventories at mills have dropped. Trades for the UAE origin P&S in containers were reported at $545/mt cfr Chattogram while for the UK and Southeast origin P&S, bids lagged around $520-525/mt cfr Chattogram.
Demand for steel remained weak as small and medium mills struggled with cash flows due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing monsoon.
Meanwhile, ferrous scrap prices continued to soften in Japan. Availability of Japanese heavy melt scrap increased while the domestic demand remained lower than expectations thus creating a downward pressure. As a result, Bangladeshi mills who expected a further price drop, remained silent.
The daily index for US-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) was unchanged at $505/mt cfr Chattogram. The indexes for UK-origin and Australia-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $500/mt and $505/mt cfr Chattogram, respectively, down by $1/mt from a day prior. Buyers booked HMS in containers as prices dropped to match expectations.
The daily Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Latin America was at $497/mt cfr Chattogram, down by $1/mt from Monday. Positive sentiments and firm prices in other subcontinental markets pushed Bangladeshi mills to raise their bids by at least $5/mt than the prior week.
Domestic steel remains flat
For ship scrap equivalent to P&S offers were at BDT51,000-51,500/mt ex-yards, down BDT500/mt. For ship plates, the asking price dropped to BDT56,200/mt ex-yards, down BDT300/mt from Friday.
Rebar from large-scale mills remained unchanged at BDT73,000/mt ex-works. While for billet, asking rates were stable at BDT62,000-62,500/mt ex-works. Finished steel supplies in Bangladesh remained higher than demand due to inventory pile-up during the lockdown.
($1=BDT85.2)