South Asia: Imported ferrous scrap prices witness downward trend amid lack of buying interest

The South Asian ferrous scrap market witnessed a downward trend today. In India, demand for imported scrap remained sluggish as buyers anticipated a drop in prices. Pakistani buyers, facing bearish market sentiments and cheaper domestic scrap, stayed inactive. Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, moderate activity was noted, with a preference for bulk purchases over containers, reflecting strategic buying behaviours amidst fluctuating offer prices.

Shredded scrap offers dropped by $2/tonne (t) in India, and $1/t each in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Overview

India: In India, demand for imported scrap remained sluggish as buyers adopted a wait-and-see approach, anticipating a drop in prices. Shredded scrap offers from the US and Europe were reported at around $415-420/t CFR Nhava Sheva, while HMS (80:20) offers from West Africa and Europe were assessed at $405-407/t CFR Nhava Sheva.

According to market insiders, besides the 6-8 bulk vessels booked last month, a few more additional vessels were recently booked for delivery to India's east and west coasts at around $410/t for HMS and $415/t for shredded scrap. These shipments are expected to arrive in June. However, the exact information is yet to be confirmed.

Pakistan: Pakistani buyers remained inactive due to bearish sentiments in the domestic steel market and a significant price disparity between offers and bids. Moreover, domestically available scrap is cheaper than imported scrap, leading to a lack of firm bids from buyers in Pakistan.

Indicative offers of shredded scrap from the UK and Europe were assessed at $420-425/t CFR Qasim.

Bangladesh: In Bangladesh, moderate activity was observed today, with buyers showing a preference for bulk purchases over containers. Shredded scrap offers from the UK/Europe were assessed at $420-425/t CFR Chattogram, while HMS (80:20) offers were at $405-410/t CFR.

A key steel mill official commented, "We are not purchasing PNS and shredded in containers; we prefer bulk shipments with mixed materials, including HMS, shredded, and PNS grades."

Another steel mill official stated, "For containers, we are bidding $425-430/t for PNS and $420-425/t for shredded from Far East and Southeast Asian suppliers. We've heard offers at $428/t from Australia for shredded and $415/t for mixed HMS1 grade." Buyers are testing the market with varying bid prices to determine the best possible price at the moment. "We are purchasing in bulk at $404/t for HMS (80:20), $410/t for shredded, and $415/t for PNS," added the official.

Turkiye: Turkish imported ferrous scrap prices saw a slight decline. A UK supplier sold HMS (80:20) at $373.5/t and bonus scrap at $397/t CFR to a Mediterranean region-based mill. A US-origin supplier sold a bulk vessel at $380/t CFR Turkiye for early June shipments. A Baltic supplier sold 40,000 t mixed scrap at $379.5/t for HMS, and $400/t for shredded and bonus scrap to a West Black Sea region-based mill.

Price assessments

India: UK-origin shredded scrap indicatives were assessed at $420/t CFR Nhava Sheva, down by $2/t compared to the last closing on Friday.

Pakistan: UK-origin shredded indicatives were assessed at $422/t CFR Qasim, down by $1/t compared to Friday.

Bangladesh: UK-origin shredded prices were assessed at $423/t CFR Chattogram, down by $1/t compared to last closing.

Turkiye: US-origin HMS (80:20) bulk prices were assessed at $379/t CFR Turkiye, down by $1/t compared to the last closing.