Following a trend reversal confirmed by deals to Turkey this week, scrap exporters have started to voice higher prices to Bangladesh this week. However, trade activity in the country has remained limited so far given the slow finished demand during Ramadan, coupled with continuous delays in approvals of letters of credit (LCs).
Thus, according to sources, only a few deals for shredded scrap in containers have been reported at around $410-415/mt CFR, the same as last week, while new offers have been estimated at around $415-420/mt CFR for ex-EU/UK origin. At the same time, offers for ex-Asia PNS have been heard at around $430-440/mt CFR, up by $5-10/mt over the past week, while offers for shredded scrap have been voiced at $425/mt CFR.
As for bulk segment, this week has been silent in terms of both offers and bookings with indicative prices for ex-US shredded estimated at $405/mt CFR, the same as last week.
“Construction keeps slowing down during Ramadan, while production costs are increasing, with steel mills operating at less than 40 percent capacity. We don’t expect any significant recovery of business activity in the short run even though the price trend has started to reverse,” a Bangladeshi trader told SteelOrbis.