South Asia: Imported ferrous scrap prices rise by up to $3/t d-o-d except in India

The South Asian ferrous scrap market showed a mixed trend in prices today. Indian buyers exhibited a lack of interest due to bid-offer disparities, while Pakistani buyers felt optimistic but faced a lack of clarity due to recent changes in the country's budget related to taxes and interest rates. In Bangladesh, the market remained sluggish with limited trades, and in Turkiye, scrap prices were stable amid weaker buyer interest and high collection costs in the EU region.

Overview

India: In India, demand for imported scrap remained subdued due to discrepancies between bid and offer prices, leading to a lack of buying interest. Indicative offers for shredded scrap from the US and UK/Europe are assessed at $410-415/t CFR Nhava Sheva, while buyers are looking at prices around $400-405/t CFR. Meanwhile, HMS 80:20 offers from West Africa and Europe are hovering at $385-390/t CFR.

Pakistan: Pakistan's imported scrap market was slightly optimistic, though sales continue to be slow. Imported offers for shredded scrap from the UK/Europe have increased, now heard at $425-427/t CFR Qasim.

The local market has shown improvement as well. Local scrap prices are at PKR 148,000-150,000/t, while rebar is priced at PKR 255,000/t for B2B transactions and PKR 258,000-260,000/t for B2C transactions.

However, recent changes in the budget have impacted the market. Increased taxes and interest rates are affecting the overall market dynamics. The cess for imports has risen from 1.25% to 1.85%, adding approximately PKR 600-700 to import prices. Additionally, while there was no import duty on HR coils previously, a 2% duty has now been imposed, market participants informed.

Bangladesh: Bangladesh's imported scrap market remains sluggish, with limited trades. Offers from Australia for shredded scrap are at $435/t and HMS (80:20) scrap at $415/t, but no transactions have been heard at these levels. Rebar demand is slow due to the monsoon, causing prices to drop by BDT 500/t. Current rebar prices are BDT 88,500-89,000/t exw Dhaka and BDT 93,000-94,000/t exw Chattogram.

Turkiye: Turkish deepsea imported ferrous scrap prices remained stable due to weaker buyer interest as mills focused on improving rebar order books before restocking for August shipments. Offers for bulk HMS (80:20) stood at $390/t CFR Turkiye. Tradable values for US/Baltic-origin HMS (80:20) were around $390/t CFR. Interest from Turkish mills for August shipments remained low, and market activity was less intense than the previous week. EU recyclers reported high collection costs, with seller targets for EU-origin HMS (80:20) at a minimum of $390/t CFR, while buyers resisted at $385-390/t CFR.

Price assessments

India: UK-origin shredded scrap indicatives were assessed at $413/t CFR Nhava Sheva, down by $1/t d-o-d.

Pakistan: UK-origin shredded indicatives edged up by $3/t to $425/t CFR Qasim, d-o-d.

Bangladesh: UK-origin shredded prices were assessed at $425/t CFR Chattogram, up by $2/t d-o-d.

Turkiye: US-origin HMS (80:20) bulk prices were assessed at $390/t CFR Turkiye, unchanged d-o-d.