South Asia: Ferrous scrap market slow, price range-bound

The South Asian ferrous scrap market continued to remain muted. Pakistan's market remained mostly inactive due to back-dated LCs. Meanwhile, Bangladesh was absent from the market with no offers for the day due to the Ramadan holidays. Surprisingly, the Indian market did not witness any deal today, although prices changed moderately.

India's finished steel market saw modest trade flow with minor corrections in terms of prices. Domestic scrap prices also seemed to have steadied as the north Indian market witnessed a positive price correction. In western India, prices trended down, while remaining stable in south India.

Pakistani buyers continued to grapple with back-dated LCs. "We cannot conclude deals till back-dated LCs get cleared. Once these LCs get through then only we can quote offers. We have many LCs with the proforma invoice of $485. However, LCs were opened at $470 and even $460," a Pakistani trader informed.

"I have heard a deal concluded at $455/t. However, it is yet to be confirmed," another trader informed.

Bangladesh's import ferrous scrap prices remained unchanged d-o-d because no revised offers or bids were heard from the sellers or buyers.

Turkish import scrap prices softened as mills continued to remain silent. "With the current trend, we might reach $420/t CFR within some weeks. But the US suppliers have a bit more buffer time to fight the reduction, given their strong local market. Their production rates are declining. So, they can't send as much scrap to domestic mills," a Turkish mill source said.