Bangladeshi steel mills inquired for both, bulk and containerized ferrous scrap. Offers, however, are scarce at present. Imported scrap prices have increased at a faster pace than that for steel. Mills are thus facing a margin squeeze. Should prices continue the rally, buyers could back out from the market.
A persisting shortage of containers has pushed freight rates up by $25-30/mt on the New York- Chattogram route resulting in higher landed costs for ferrous scrap.
Demand for finished steel in the domestic market is gradually rising with the pace of infrastructure projects picking up. But amid bullish steel prices, government contractors are faced with a cash crunch that could delay their schedules.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded settled at $415/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $3.93/mt. UK-origin containerized shredded was offered at $415-420/mt cfr Chattogram. Bids for shredded from the US, New Zealand and Australia were at around $405-410/mt cfr Chattogram.
The weekly Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $392.14/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $1.43/mt. Trades for the UK-origin containerized HMS 1&2 (80:20) were reported at $390-392/mt cfr Chattogram, aiding suppliers to raise offers above $395/mt cfr Chattogram.
A few offers for #1 HMSwere at $390-395/mt cfr Chattogram from Australia and the US, depending on the quality. Some mills are avoiding imports from the US and UK due to delay in shipments amid tight vessel space. Offers forsheared #1 HMS from the UK were at prices above $405-410/mt cfr Chattogram.
Bangladeshi mills sought Japanese small bulk cargoes, but high demand from SE Asian buyers and domestic EAF makers in Japan garnered more attention from suppliers. Japanese traders are eyeing above $390-395/mt Chattogram for H2 in small bulk.
The daily index for Latin America-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $382/mt cfr Chattogram, up by $2/mt. Offers for Latin American mix HMS #1 and P&S were at $385-390/mt cfr Chattogram. A few containers were booked for the grade from New Zealand and Chile at $380-385/mt cfr Chattogram.
Rebar prices rose by BDT500-1,000/mt ex-works with many mills announcing price hikes in this week. On Tuesday, large scale rebar makers like AKS and BSRM raised their asking prices to BDT61,000-62,000/mt ex-works, with other mills the following suit.
Trades for domestic billets started picking up. Steel mills in Chattogram offered domestic billet at BDT49,500-50,000/mt ($585-591/mt) ex-works Chattogram. Thus, demand for ferrous scrap is likely to stay strong, said a steelmaker.
Shipbreaking scrap equivalent to P&S rose in sync with the rise in imported scrap prices. Trades were at BDT39,500-40,000/mt ex-yards on Tuesday. While HMS 1&2 (80:20) was priced at BDT38,000/mt ex-yards Chattogram. Offers for scrapped vessel imports gained $10/mt crossing the $430-450/ldt mark. Seasonal concerns have impacted the arrival schedule.
($1= BDT84.60)