South Asia: Imported scrap prices continue to move up, trade slows down

South Asia's imported scrap market remained muted at the beginning of the week. Scrap buyers are cautious and opted to wait-and-watch in the near term. Indian buyers are looking for market clarity. Pakistan's market, on the other hand, remained silent due to the cyclone. Meanwhile, Bangladeshi buyers continued small quantity bookings from other origins.

Global prices continued to move up in the recent Turkish deal.

India

Indian buyers are more cautious as the domestic market is unsupportive. Despite limited buying inquiries for semi-finished and finished steel, domestic scrap offers remained supported by moderate demand amid supply concerns. Imported scrap buyers expect that the global market may go down. However, currently the Indian market seems very poor. Offers are mostly unchanged from the last closing.

Pakistan

The imported scrap market in Pakistan is mostly unchanged, and the recent cyclone has also impacted market activities in coastal areas. However, the market continued to move at a slow pace in the Punjab region. "The country is facing a severe contraction of the economy, coupled with negative situations that worsen demand," said a Pakistani scrap buyer. "The market is likely to stay depressed until foreign support comes. Nevertheless, some deals were heard at around $440/t, yet major mills are also facing letter of credit (LC) problems now," he added.

Imported scrap offers are mostly unchanged from the last closing, and negotiations have slowed down.

Bangladesh

Bangladeshi buyers, meanwhile, are looking for clear market direction as liquidity issues continue to weigh down scrap transactions. No fresh bulk deal has been heard after the Kanto tender booking. Additionally, limited offers are available in the market from Australia, Brazil, and Hong Kong.

Buyers are showing less interest in booking UK/EU material now.

Turkiye

Turkish imported scrap prices continued to move up after the recent deal concluded. A USA-origin bulk cargo with 20,000 t of shredded material and 10,000 t of bonus was sold to a Turkish steel producer at an average price of $410/t CFR last weekend, for an August shipment.

SteelMint's daily assessment for USA-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) stands at around $390/t CFR Turkiye, unchanged w-o-w.

Price assessments

• European shredded scrap offers into India stood at $440-445/t CFR Nhava Sheva, unchanged d-o-d.
  
  
• UK-origin shredded scrap prices into Bangladesh were assessed at $465/t CFR Chattogram, unchanged d-o-d.
  
  
• UK-origin shredded scrap prices into Pakistan remained unchanged at $440/t CFR Qasim.