South Asia: Imported ferrous scrap offers remain largely stable d-o-d
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Today, the South Asian ferrous scrap market showed overall stability. In India, demand surged amidst limited domestic supply and heightened steel demand. Conversely, Pakistani buyers reduced activity due to a sluggish finished steel market. Import activity in Bangladesh remained moderate.
Shredded scrap offers held steady in India and Bangladesh, while increasing by $1/tonne (t) in Pakistan. Additionally, US bulk HMS (80:20) offers to Turkiye rose by $1/t d-o-d.
Overview
India: In India, the demand for imported scrap has strengthened, driven by limited supply in the domestic market and a slight increase in finished steel demand. Offers for shredded scrap from the US and Europe ranged between $425-430/t CFR, while HMS (80:20) scraps were quoted at $400-405/t CFR. Current bulk offers in shredded are at around $425/t CFR west coast, India
Various sources said the recent bulk deals were booked an average price of $407-420/t CFR this month. Buyers are actively securing scrap for upcoming production cycles and anticipating enhanced demand from the steel and infrastructure sectors ahead of elections that are under way in phases.
Pakistan: Pakistani buyers have reduced their purchasing activity due to a sluggish finished steel market, resulting in the absence of firm bids today. Offers for shredded scrap from the UK/Europe remained in the range of $425-430/t CFR Qasim, while those from the US ranged between $420-430/t CFR, and from the UAE, they were heard at approximately $435-440/t CFR.
Bangladesh: In Bangladesh, purchasing of imported scrap stayed at a moderate level due to delays in LC approvals and a slowdown in the domestic steel market. Offers for shredded scrap from the UK/Europe were in the range of $420-425/t CFR Chattogram, while HMS (80:20) was quoted at $400-405/t CFR.
Turkiye: The Turkish deep-sea imported ferrous scrap market remained robust, driven by persistent demand from mills seeking May shipment cargoes. Offers for bulk HMS (80:20) scraps from the US were assessed at $387/t CFR. Several notable deals include a Sweden-origin cargo sold to a West Marmara-based mill at $385.5/t CFR, a Baltic supplier selling HMS (80:20) to a west Black Sea steel mill at $380/t CFR, and a UK supplier selling 40,000 t of HMS (80:20) & shredded at $389/t CFR. Additionally, an unconfirmed UK-origin deal included HMS (80:20) at $383/t and bonus scrap at $403/t CFR. Despite weak overall demand attributed to sluggish rebar sales, anticipation of more deep-sea deals persists. Short-sea supply constraints tightened, with Black Sea-origin offers of $375/t CFR Turkiye escalating to $380/t CFR from Greece and Italy.
Price assessments
India: UK-origin shredded scrap indicatives were assessed unchanged at $426/t CFR Nhava Sheva, d-o-d.
Pakistan: UK-origin shredded indicatives were assessed at $427/t CFR Qasim, up by $1/t d-o-d.
Bangladesh: UK-origin shredded prices were assessed unchanged at $422/t CFR Chattogram, d-o-d.
Turkiye: US-origin HMS (80:20) bulk prices were assessed at $387/t CFR Turkiye, up by $1/t d-o-d
Outlook
In the near term, imported scrap offers are anticipated to remain elevated due to a firm seller stance and active demand from Turkey, which is the largest importer of scrap and a key price setter in the market. In India, buying activity is expected to continue improving due to increased inquiries. However, contrasting this, a slow momentum is expected in Pakistan and Bangladesh due to a weak finished steel market.