South Asia: Imported ferrous scrap market sees mixed trends d-o-d

• India's scrap prices rise amid supply shortage
  
  
• Turkiye's market softens on limited demand
  
  

The South Asian and Turkish imported scrap markets exhibited mixed activity today, with India seeing slight gains in containerised shredded prices due to supply constraints from the US and improved domestic sentiments. Meanwhile, Pakistan remained quiet as buyers eased into the holiday period, while Bangladesh's market showed steady sentiment, supported by scrap shortages and firm domestic prices. In Turkiye, the market softened, with offers for US-origin scrap declining, reflecting limited buying interest.

Overview

India: India's imported scrap market saw slight gains today, with containerised shredded prices rising to $388/t CFR Nhava Sheva, up $3/t from the previous assessment on Friday. The increase was driven by a shortage in shredded scrap supply from the US owing to the holiday period and improved domestic sentiments. However, offers for UK-origin scrap were at $385-390/t CFR, with sellers targeting $395-400/t, though buying interest remained limited. The weakening Indian rupee, which hit a record low of 85.69 against the US dollar, added pressure to the market.

Pakistan: In Pakistan, market activity was subdued as buyers eased into a holiday mood during the Christmas and New Year period. Offers for shredded scrap from the UK/Europe were reported at $390-395/t CFR Qasim.

A steel mill official noted, "The market is quiet; holidays are ongoing."

Bangladesh: Bangladesh's imported scrap market showed steady sentiment today, with offers for Malaysian sheared scrap and Hong Kong Holo bundles at $370/t CFR Chattogram. While volumes remained modest, scrap shortages and dollar volatility supported stable pricing. Domestically, scrap prices were firm at BDT 52,000-55,000/t depending upon grade, billets at BDT 71,000/t, and rebar prices ranged from BDT 79,000-83,000/t across mills in Dhaka and Chattogram, reflecting increased demand as old construction projects resumed.

However, market activity was dampened by slower bank operations due to year-end closures. Sentiment points to a more active market next week as financial processes normalise and project momentum builds.

Turkiye: The Turkish imported ferrous scrap market softened with US-origin HMS (80:20) at $347/t CFR, down $2/t. Unconfirmed reports of Baltic-origin deals at $346/t CFR added to the cautious sentiment. Indicative tradable values for US/Baltic-origin scrap hovered at $343-349/t CFR, but mills showed resistance to bidding above $347/t. Meanwhile, US recyclers maintained firm offers at $350/t CFR, keeping negotiations limited amidst subdued buying interest.

Price assessments

India: UK-origin shredded indicatives were assessed at $388/t CFR Nhava Sheva, up by $3/t compared to the last closing on Friday.

Pakistan: UK-origin shredded indicatives were assessed at $393/t CFR Qasim, unchanged compared to the last closing on Friday.

Bangladesh: UK-origin shredded were assessed stable at $393/t CFR Chattogram, compared to the last closing.

Turkiye: US-origin HMS (80:20) bulk was assessed at $347/t CFR Turkiye, down by $2/t compared to last closing.