South Asia: Imported ferrous scrap prices continue to drop amid weak enquiries

The South Asian ferrous scrap market maintained another day of silence as no significant deals were tracked in the key markets of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

Offers were down by $3-6/tonne across all grades in these major markets. It is important to note that from the first week of April, prices of South Asian shredded scrap decreased by $25-$30/t.

India

The Indian imported ferrous scrap market heard no major deals, due to subdued demand from end-users. However, key scrap markets in India -- like Mandi Gobindgarh (in the northern part of the country), Jalna and Raipur (central India), Durgapur (east), and Hyderabad (south) saw minor positive price corrections. This happened on the back of last week's decrease in prices on a DAP basis.

"Offers were heard at $430/t. But no buying interest was found at this price range," an Indian trader said.

"Demand is not there in the finished steel segment and iron ore is also going down," a prominent mill source informed while discussing the current declining price trend in India.

Pakistan

Offers for European shredded scrap were heard floated at $432-436/t CFR Port Qasim. But there was little interest from buyers due to constrained currency flows in the market.

"Prices continued to go down due to the sluggish behaviour of the market. We are not offering at the moment. Indicatives would be at $430-435/t CFR Qasim," a trader from Pakistan informed.

Bangladesh

The imported ferrous scrap market continued to be slow due to sluggish sentiments in the domestic market and participants remained mute. They may book in the upcoming Kanto tender which is going to take place 10 May.

Indicatives heard for the day in HMS(80:20) from Europe were at $430/t but no buying interest was shown by participants, followed by PNS grade offers from UK/Europe hovering at around $460-465/t CFR Chattogram Port.

Turkiye

Turkiye's market saw sharp price reductions today. Offers were heard at around $380/t on a CFR basis. In one month, prices have gone down more than $50/t due to lesser demand. However, the market may resume actively after the current elections are over.

The current price assessment for HMS(80:20) in bulk from the US is around $380-383/t CFR Turkiye.

Assessments

Europe-origin shredded scrap offers into India stood at $430/t CFR Nhava Sheva, down $2/t d-o-d.

UK-origin shredded scrap prices into Bangladesh stood at $455/t CFR Chattogram, down $3/t d-o-d.

UK-origin shredded scrap prices into Pakistan stood at $432/t CFR Qasim, down $6/t d-o-d.