South Asia: Shipbreaking import prices into India fall by $5/LDT on subdued sales

The recycling market was quiet yet again last week due to the non-availability of tonnage, while offer prices from recyclers remained mostly stable, with India witnessing a drop of $5/LDT w-o-w.

The ship recycling community gathered in Dubai last week for the Tradewinds Ship Recycling Forum 2022 to discuss the current challenges affecting ship owners, cash buyers and ship recyclers, and to map their future paths.

Weak sentiments in Bangladesh

The domestic steel sector in Bangladesh is having trouble since there is not enough demand for finished steel amid high input costs. Due to a lack of tonnage in the recycling market, recyclers' offer prices have remained unchanged.

Buyers are still uninterested, and even for smaller LDT units there isn't the demand from a market that hasn't received much tonnage over the course of the last several quarters.

Deals

Total tonnage reported last week at Chattogram Port was 65,835 LDT.

INR slips to new all-time low

Domestic steel demand is anticipated to increase after the holidays, but prices may not rise significantly. Prices from Alang's ship recyclers observed a weekly weakening of around $5/LDT.

In the middle of the week, the Indian Rupee momentarily surpassed INR 83 versus the USD before settling at 82.60, which is still at a record-breaking low and at a worrying level.

Deals

Total tonnage at Alang Port last week was 48,848 LDT.

Pakistan market silent

It was encouraging to see several recyclers come to the Tradewinds Ship Recycling forum in Dubai last week. However, no market transactions were reportedafter severe flooding in Pakistan.

In the coming months, buyers might be eager to step up and secure tonnage once more.

Deals

Total tonnage at Gadani Port last week was 8,650 LDT.

Prices in $/LDT
Source: SteelMint Research