Trade activity in the import scrap market in Bangladesh has remained in a lull this week since, on the one hand, many foreign sellers have been out of the market due to the winter holidays, while, on the other hand, the local market in Bangladesh has been depressed ahead of the upcoming elections, with most Bangladeshi customers preferring to refrain from new bookings and rather to focus on the opening of new letters of credit (LCs), which has remained an issue as well.
More specifically, in the containerized segment, indicative offers for shredded scrap from Europe, the UK and Australia have remained at $435-440/mt CFR, though most buyers have been assessing the tradable price level at $430-435/mt CFR. Meanwhile, offers for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap, specifically from Australia, have been heard at $410-415/mt CFR, with even a deal reported at $410/mt CFR level, though this information has not been confirmed by the time of publication. Furthermore, offers for ex-Hong Kong PNS scrap have remained at around $445/mt CFR, the same as last week.
In the bulk segment, trade has been weak as well, with indicative offers for ex-Singapore HMS grade scrap standing at $425-430/mt CFR, against deal prices at $430/mt CFR last week. Indicative prices for ex-US shredded scrap in bulk have been voiced at $430-435/mt CFR.
According to sources, business activity is expected to pick up not earlier than mid-January, after the elections in particular, and when suppliers return from the holidays.