South Asian imported scrap struggles amid weather woes; Turkish market gains momentum

The South Asian ferrous scrap market saw mixed activity, as weather disruptions and economic challenges affected demand across the region. In contrast, Turkiye's imported scrap market remained strong, supported by tight supply and firm offers, while rebar prices inched up on steady order volumes and satisfactory margins for mills.

In India, buyers remained cautious amid bid-offer mismatches and weaker steel demand due to the monsoon, though market sentiment is expected to improve as rains subside.

Pakistan also experienced subdued buying interest, with the monsoons impacting rebar demand and construction activity. Meanwhile, Bangladesh faced limited interest from buyers due to strict banking regulations and flooding.

Overview

India: The demand for imported scrap in India remained sluggish, as buyers stayed on the sidelines, citing bid-offer mismatches and weaker-than-expected steel demand during the monsoon season. However, sellers and traders are optimistic that market sentiment will improve as the monsoon recedes and buyers start restocking for the winter production cycle.

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

A trader said, "Few offers are surfacing for India, and new ones are leaning on the higher side due to limited supply from sellers. Some are offering pre-loaded material at slightly lower rates, but trades are expected to increase from Asia, especially India and Pakistan."

Pakistan: Pakistani buyers remained subdued today, as market sentiment continued to be dampened by the ongoing monsoons. Participants reported a slowdown in rebar demand due to reduced construction activity. Indicative offers for shredded scrap from the UK/Europe were in the range of $395-400/t CFR Qasim.

In the domestic market, rebar prices were quoted at PKR 240,000-245,000/t, while billet prices hovered at PKR 210,000-212,000/t.

A steel mill official noted, "UAE shredded scrap is now at $400/t, dropping significantly, and we are hearing that UK shredded is also being offered at around $400/t."

Bangladesh: Bangladeshi buyers exhibited limited interest due to ongoing challenges, including strict banking regulations, which are making it difficult to open letters of credit (LCs). This was compounded by a slowdown in the steel market, caused by floods and monsoon disruptions.

Indicative offers for shredded scrap from the UK/Europe were assessed at $400-405/t CFR Chattogram, while HMS (80:20) was priced at $390-395/t CFR.

Turkiye: The Turkish imported ferrous scrap market saw continued strong momentum, driven by tight supply and firm offers from sellers. Turkish mills remain short on scrap material, with US-origin HMS (80:20) offered at $370-375/t CFR and deals heard at around $370-371/t CFR. European sellers also held firm, with offers for EU-origin HMS (80:20) at $365-370/t CFR.

Slow scrap generation and increasing collection costs in Europe further tightened supply. Turkish rebar export prices edged up slightly, as mills kept offers high due to steady order volumes, with margins between scrap and rebar conversion still satisfactory for Turkish mills.

Price assessments

• India: UK-origin shredded scrap indicatives remained unchanged from the previous day at $390/t CFR Nhava Sheva.
  
  
• Pakistan: UK-origin shredded indicatives moved up by $2/t d-o-d to $400/t CFR Qasim.
  
  
• Bangladesh: UK-origin shredded prices rose by $5/t from the previous day to $405/t CFR Chattogram.
  
  
• Turkiye: US-origin HMS (80:20) bulk prices increased by $5/t d-o-d to $370/t CFR Turkiye.