South Asia: Indian buyers remain silent on weak finished steel demand, liquidity concerns

• Indian buyers remain cautious due to weak steel demand
  
  
• Turkiye's imported scrap market stable as mills resist price cuts
  
  

The imported ferrous scrap markets in South Asia experienced a quiet day, with limited activity observed in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Turkiye. In India, sluggish finished steel demand and liquidity concerns held back buyer interest, while in Pakistan, tight margins and weak construction demand kept mills cautious. Bangladesh saw similar trends, with weak steel demand and liquidity challenges weighing on market activity. In Turkiye, prices remained stable as mills resisted pressure for price reductions, and sellers anticipated a potential market recovery in the New Year.

Overall, offers saw a mixed trend, with India and Bangladesh experiencing a $2/t drop, while prices remained stable in Pakistan and Turkiye.

Overview

India: India's imported scrap market remained inactive today, impacted by sluggish finished steel demand and liquidity constraints. Offers for shredded scrap from the UK/Europe stood at $380-385/t CFR Nhava Sheva, but buyers held firm near $370-375/t. HMS (80:20) offers ranged from $360-365/t CFR, with bids below $350/t. Competitive domestic scrap prices and uncertainty around potential steel import duties further dampened sentiment. Traders reported limited inquiries, reflecting the cautious market mood amid weak demand and production cuts.

Pakistan: Pakistan's imported scrap market saw limited activity today as weak construction demand and tight margins kept buyers cautious. Offers for UK/EU-origin shredded were at $380-389/t CFR Qasim, with bids staying at $375-380/t. Domestic rebar prices remained stable at PKR 245,000-248,000/t, while local scrap was traded at PKR 140,000-144,000/t.

Mills continued low-capacity operations, constrained by subdued demand and falling global scrap prices. Lingering market uncertainty has left both buyers and suppliers hesitant to commit to new deals.

Bangladesh: Bangladesh's imported scrap market remained subdued today as weak finished steel demand and liquidity challenges limited buyer activity. Bulk HMS (80:20) from the US was offered at $370/t CFR Chattogram, while bids hovered near $360/t CFR. Japanese H2 bulk scrap saw offers at $355-360/t CFR, but buyers sought $350/t CFR or lower.

Containerised shredded scrap from Europe was offered at $380-390/t CFR, yet interest remained low. Poor rebar sales, slow construction activity, and reduced production levels at mills have left the market in a cautious, wait-and-watch mode.

Turkiye: Turkiye's imported scrap market remained quiet today, with prices unchanged as sellers resisted pressure from Turkish mills for lower prices. Offers for HMS (80:20) from the US and Baltic was assessed at $338/t CFR, with tradable values in the $337-338/t range. Buyer activity remained low, as Turkish mills faced weak demand for January-end products, limiting their urgency to buy scrap. Sellers, particularly from the EU, stepped back in anticipation of a market recovery in the new year, with the expectation of tighter scrap availability. Both buyers and sellers adopted a cautious stance, with limited offers and little market movement.

Price assessments

India: UK-origin shredded indicatives were assessed at $378/t CFR Nhava Sheva, down by $2/t d-o-d.

Pakistan: UK-origin shredded indicatives were assessed stable d-o-d at $380/t CFR.

Bangladesh: UK-origin shredded prices were assessed at $380/t CFR Chattogram, down by $2/t d-o-d.

Turkiye: US-origin HMS (80:20) bulk prices remained unchanged d-o-d at $338/t CFR Turkiye.