South Asia: Imported scrap markets remain rangebound amid weak demand

• Indian imported scrap prices show little movement
  
  
• In Bangladesh, buyer-seller price gap remains at $10-12/t
  
  

South Asian scrap markets remained stable to slightly soft as of 16 April, with subdued buying in India, cautious sentiment in Pakistan and Bangladesh amid pricing gaps contrasted with a quiet Turkiye, where tight supply persisted but deal activity remained limited.

India: Indias imported scrap market remained largely stable with no major price movement, as limited buying interest kept activity subdued. Africa-origin LMS bundles was heard at $345/t and HMS (cast iron mix) at $390/t, while HMS offers varied by loading periods between $380-393/t across UK, Europe, and Africa origins, reflecting steady but untested levels.

Australia-origin offers were indicated at $385/t for HMS 80:20 and $405/t for shredded CFR Nhava Sheva/Mundra, while Chennai levels were lower at $375-380/t for HMS and $395-400/t for shredded. Bids for containerised shredded scrap were heard at $380-390/t CFR Nhava Sheva, but no firm offers or trades were reported, keeping the market quiet and prices largely unchanged.

Pakistan: Imported scrap in Pakistan softened slightly, with South America-origin HMS offers heard at $380/t and UK-origin shredded (1,000 t) sold at $425/t CFR Qasim. Offers remained higher at $430/t, but buying interest was limited, while local scrap prices at PKR 162,000-165,000/t ($581-592/t) continued to influence cautious sentiment. As per market insiders, a sharp cut of PKR 20,000-25,000/t ($72-90/t) by a major Pakistani steelmaker signals aggressive price correction and has triggered panic among traders and distributors.

Bangladesh: Imported scrap prices into Bangladesh remained largely stable on 16 April, with PNS offers heard at $430-440/t CFR. However, the market stayed restrained as buyers and sellers remained split by around $10-12/t amid limited price transparency and trust issues over workable levels. Local scrap was heard at BDT 60,000-62,000/t ($488-504/t), further influencing cautious buying sentiment.

Turkiye: Deep-sea scrap prices in Turkiye remained stable on 16 April, supported by limited offers from US and EU sellers. A clear standoff persisted, with mills targeting around $400-405/t CFR while sellers held higher expectations, resulting in minimal deal activity.

Prices remained stable to slightly firm, but overall market activity stayed muted as mills refrained from aggressive buying. With no immediate urgency to procure, participants expect dealmaking to remain limited in the near term.