South Asia: Indian buyers continue to prefer domestic scrap amid bid-offer disparities

The South Asian ferrous scrap market experienced significant challenges, characterised by weak demand and limited buying activity across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Turkiye.

In India, buyers remained inactive due to a considerable disparity between bids and offers, along with a growing preference for more affordable domestic scrap. Meanwhile, Pakistan's market reflected a slowdown in construction and high interest rates, contributing to lacklustre interest in imports. Bangladeshi buyers were similarly hesitant, facing difficulties with letters of credit and a decline in steel demand.

Turkiye, while seeing stable prices for imported scrap, reported minimal transactional activity.

Overview

India's scrap market stalemate: Indian buyers remained quiet today, with no firm bids or offers surfacing in the market. The demand for imported scrap remained weak due to a wide gap between bids and offers, and buyers' preference for domestic scrap, which proved to be more cost-effective.

Indicative offers for shredded scrap from the US and UK/Europe were at $385-390/t CFR Nhava Sheva, while HMS (80:20) was heard at $365-370/t CFR.

Weak steel sales continue to weigh on Pakistan: Pakistan's imported scrap market remained sluggish today, reflecting weak buyer activity and a slowdown in construction demand. High interest rates continue to exert pressure on the market, further dampening the appetite for scrap purchases.

Offers for shredded scrap from the UK/Europe were assessed between $390-395/t CFR Qasim, while offers for shredded scrap from the UAE remained at around $395/t CFR and HMS was heard at $365-370/t CFR.

A UAE-based exporter noted, "Despite these prices, buying interest remains minimal, with no noticeable increase in demand."

The rebars market mirrored this downturn, with smaller players selling grade 60 rebars at a depressed price range of PKR 240,000-245,000/t. In contrast, larger, more established producers are pricing their rebars at PKR 250,000-255,000/t. Overall demand is extremely low, and market sentiment remains decidedly negative.

Bangladesh: Bangladeshi buyers showed only a modest interest in imported scrap, primarily due to weak steel demand and difficulties in opening letters of credit (LCs). At present, mills were receiving previously booked orders, reducing the immediate need for new imports.

Turkiye: Turkish imported ferrous scrap prices remained stable at $365/t CFR for US-origin HMS (80:20). Meanwhile, two West Marmara mills secured European bulk scrap cargoes at $357/t and $361/t. However, the exact quantities involved in these transactions could not be confirmed at the time of this report's publication.

Price assessments

India: UK-origin shredded scrap indicatives drop by $1/t to $388/t CFR Nhava Sheva from previous day.

Pakistan: UK-origin shredded indicatives drop by $3/t d-o-d to $390/t CFR Qasim.

Bangladesh: UK-origin shredded prices were reported to be stable at $400/t CFR Chattogram d-o-d.

Turkiye: US-origin HMS (80:20) bulk prices remained stable at $365/t CFR Turkiye compared to the previous day.