South Asia's imported scrap market starts week on subdued note

The imported scrap market in South Asia started the week on a subdued note, despite offers hovering at low levels. Indian buyers were active last week, however, buyers have gone silent at the beginning of this week. Pakistan- and Bangladesh-based steel mills are also quiet due to dull domestic scrap prices, LC issues and heavy rainfall in many regions.

India

Indian scrap buyers continue to book some small parcels, while some steel producers are looking for domestic substitute material at feasible prices. Further, some deals from Australia and the US have been concluded.

"There has been no change in offers and negotiations are going on but mostly suppliers are not ready to sell at lower prices," informed a steel producer source.

Meanwhile, some prominent steel producers are looking for a further price correction. Additionally, scrap buyers may again shift their interest to bulk cargoes instead of containerized material as prices are more competitive compared to containers.

Pakistan

Imported scrap buyers in Pakistan continued to wait and watch owing to low demand from end users. Further, a weak currency and liquidity issues have kept market sentiments bearish. Steel producers are likely to return in the market after the Muharram holidays.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh-based steel producers may book some more bulk cargoes for post-monsoon production. However, steel producers have taken a pause after a round of bulk bookings earlier this month.

On the other hand, some small bookings in containers were also done last week. However, this week buyers may want to watch the direction of prices more closely.

Turkiye

Negotiations in the ferrous scrap market showed a slight improvement. A couple of deals were concluded in the second half of last week. Turkish steelmakers were trying to get further discounts as finished steel prices have been falling continuously.

Recent deals
HMS(90:10) from Australia booked was at $405/t CFR Mundra
US-origin 500 t shredded was sold at $402/t CFR Chennai
Approximately 250-500 t of UK-origin HMS(80:20) was sold at $390/t CFR Mundra
Around 300 t of Europe-origin NTP scrap was booked at $419/t CFR Chennai

Price assessments

• India: UK-origin shredded scrap offers stand at $405/t CFR Nhava Sheva, down d-o-d.
  
  
• Pakistan: UK-origin shredded scrap offers were at $410/t CFR Qasim, unchanged from last Friday.
  
  
• Bangladesh: Offers for UK-origin shredded scrap were at $425/t CFR Chattogram, stable compared to the last closing.
  
  
• Turkiye: US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) prices fell slightly to $354/t CFR Turkiye.
  
  

Outlook

The imported scrap market in South Asia is going through a phase of uncertainty. While there is some demand from steel producers, the overall market sentiment is bearish due to factors such as weak demand, liquidity issues, and low prices. If demand from steel producers picks up, the market may see some improvement in transactions. However, if the bearish sentiment continues, prices could fall further.