Business activity in the import scrap segment in Bangladesh has slowed down this week, with most major steelmakers refraining from new purchases as finished steel demand has remained below expectations. Thus, only occasional deals for containerized scrap were reported at the beginning of the week at mainly the same levels as last week, while some offers have shown a downward bias by the end of the week. Meanwhile, trade activity in the bulk segment is still in a lull, with most buyers adopting a wait-and-see approach.
More specifically, following several deals for ex-EU/UK shredded scrap in containers at $430/mt CFR at the end of last week and beginning of this week, and at $425/mt CFR for shredded scrap from Australia, new offers for ex-EU/UK and ex-Australia scrap have settled at $425/mt CFR and $420/mt CFR, respectively.
Meanwhile, offers for ex-EU/UK HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in containers have been voiced at $405/mt CFR, against deal prices at $408-410/mt CFR last week. Besides, offers for ex-Asia PNS scrap have remained at $435-440/mt CFR, the same as last week.
In the bulk segment, however, while indicative offers for ex-US HMS grade scrap have been voiced at $405-407/mt CFR, up by $2/mt on the higher end of the range week on week, while offers for ex-Australia HMS grade scrap have settled at $405-410/mt CFR, according to sources. “No deals have been done in bulk so far, though some negotiations are on the way. The situation in the containerized segment is a bit better, but anyway trade has been slow as most customers prefer to maintain a wait-and-see stance,” a Bangladeshi trader told SteelOrbis.
In the local market, offers for domestic rebar have remined stable at BDT 92,000/mt ($838/mt) ex-works in Chattogram (Chittagong) and at around BDT 85,000/mt ($774/mt) ex-works in Dhaka, the same as last week.
$1 = BDT 109.79