The Chinese New Year holidays are nearly over and China has started ordering steel plates once again. Therefore, the prices of this product are now moving upward after a lull until mid-February. The overall market sentiment in the subcontinent is expected to be positive in the last week of February 2021, according to GMS.
Bangladesh: Several units have already arrived at the beginning of 2021. This period was marked by an upward price surge toward $500/ldt followed by a crash of $50 – $60/ldt. Over the previous month, the country has seen more than 200,000ldt arrive in very large ore carriers (VLOCs) and dry vessels.
Pakistan: Steel plate prices in Pakistan are improving at $445/ldt for containers.
India: Prices in India continue to improve, though not as much as their counterparts in the subcontinent. India’s demand for HKC and any special non-ferrous metal units is steady.
Turkey: The country has seen another week of price improvement. Steel plate, imported steel and the Turkish Lira recorded firm prices by the end of week eight in 2021. The decline of vessel prices has thinned out as well.
| Price trends for the week ended Feb 19 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Trend | Dry Bulk $/ldt | Tankers $/ldt | Containers $/ldt |
| Bangladesh | Improving | 430 | 440 | 450 |
| Pakistan | Improving | 425 | 435 | 445 |
| India | Improving | 420 | 430 | 440 |
| Turkey | Steady | 240 | 245 | 250 |
The near term outlook is positive and busy with more tonnages expected to reach yards in 2021.