South Asia: Imported scrap markets begins week on sluggish note

The start of the week saw the South Asian scrap market maintaining silence. Pakistani and Bangladeshi-based steel mills remained cautious and waited for the budget amid continuous liquidity issues. The imported scrap market scenario continues to remain sluggish.

India

Indian scrap buyers opted to wait for market clarity, on the first day of the week. Imported scrap offers were slightly down, with limited trade activities witnessed throughout the day. On the other hand, steel producers are facing liquidity issues due to the bearish finished steel market. There were no bulk scrap cargo bookings recorded from mills last week.

Falling semi-finished steel prices in the region and limited trading activities in domestic scrap at prevailing offers prompted suppliers to lower prices today.

Pakistan

Pakistan's steel producers are struggling due to a liquidity crunch. The LC issue is again bothering scrap buyers. Earlier, the buyer-supplier carried on their negotiations on mutual understanding as the bank took time to allow a new LC. But now the cash flow has become tightened, while market players are cautious ahead of the monsoon. However, the general budget for FY24 may change the market's direction.

Limited offers were available in the market in the absence of major buyers, and deals also remained absent, SteelMint learnt.

Bangladesh

Imported scrap offers for Europe/UK-origin shredded and HMS scrap remained unchanged compared to the previous closing. The ferrous scrap market in Bangladesh was quiet at the beginning of the week as buyers awaited clarity. No major deals were made.

Turkiye

A bunch of deep sea cargo bookings were recorded last week at elevated prices for shipment in the second half of June.

The imported scrap market is panicking on stocks now, and near-term sales from the supplier side have strengthened. The major issue was the presidential election, which concluded on 28 May. Interestingly, the national currency continued to hit a fresh low against the greenback after the election. Hence, buyers will wait for a favourable price direction.

Currently, the lira is being traded at 20.10 against the dollar.

SteelMint's daily assessment for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) stood at $385/t CFR Turkiye, slightly up by $2/t from the last closing.

Price assessments

• Europe-origin shredded scrap offers into India remained steady at $435/t CFR Nhava Sheva, down by $5/t from the last closing.
  
  
• UK-origin shredded scrap prices into Bangladesh stood at $460/t CFR Chattogram, maintaining stability.
  
  
• UK-origin shredded scrap prices into Pakistan stood at $440/t CFR Qasim, slightly down.