Indian Mill Books 32,000 MT Bulk Scrap Cargo from USA

After remaining silent for over 3 months, Indian bulk scrap market has regained activity this week, when a fresh bulk vessel booking for imported scrap was concluded for the first time since the last booking at end of Sep'19.

In the latest deal concluded at the closing of last week, a major USA (west coast) based scrap recycler sold a bulk vessel of 32,000 MT of mixed cargo to a Gujarat based steel manufacturer, comprising of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at USD 335/MT, Shredded scrap at USD 340/MT and bonus (P&S) grade at USD 345/MT CFR Kandla. The loading/shipment for this vessel is expected for Feb'2020.

This booking has effectively raised the bulk scrap prices in the region significantly, against the last bulk deal to South Asia being concluded at USD 325/MT CFR Chittagong, when a Bangladesh mill had booked a vessel of 32,000 MT of Shredded scrap from another USA based yard, in the latter half of Dec'19.

For the last 4 months, no bulk vessel for ferrous scrap have arrived at Kandla port after Aug'19, and notably the last bulk vessels booked by India in Sep'19 too have not yet arrived at berth, following several delays.

Indian bulk scrap imports fell in CY19 - In CY 2019, India observed bulk scrap imports of 291,590 MT arriving at berth, significantly down by 43% Y-o-Y against 515,121 MT of imports recorded in CY 2018. High global scrap prices and comparatively cheaper domestic scrap prices kept imports low.