Bangladesh: Disparity Between Bids and Offers Limit Imported Scrap Trades

Imported scrap trades in Bangladesh remained slow in Bangladesh for another week on low demand, although a slight uptick was witnessed in the number of bookings this week in comparison to an almost silent market in the previous. Offers from most global origins stood more-or-less stable, while buyers continued to bid at considerably lower levels.

 SteelMint’s assessment for containerized Shredded 211 scrap from European and North American origin stand in the range of USD 288-290/MT CFR Chittagong, with most fresh offers now touching USD 290/MT level, however no considerable transactions have recently concluded in this price range. Few buyers were witnessed bidding at USD 278-280/MT CFR for Shredded in containers, especially after a fall in global prices at closing of last week.

“Shredded offers are expected to easily fall below USD 280/MT CFR, even if temporarily, and most buyers don’t wish to book at prevailing levels, especially in the current market of finished steel” Shared a Dhaka based mill owner.

Containerized trades of HMS scrap improve – HMS scrap prices inched down marginally against last week. Few trades of HMS 1&2 (80:20) were heard at USD 250/MT CFR Chittagong, from Brazil origin, while offers from most other origins stood at USD 256-258/MT CFR for HMS 1&2 (80:20). Traders reported deals to have concluded this week.

HMS 1 was offered at around USD 270/MT CFR while HMS 1&2 (90:10) was heard at around USD 263-265/MT levels from New Zealand, Australia and European origins. No major trades of P&S concluded, with some offers reported at around USD 285/MT CFR from Brazil.

The domestic steel industry has been facing lukewarm demand, resulting in low prices for finished steel and low sales. Although in comparison to April, steel sales have improved somewhat, however, the cashflow is still weak which is in turn affecting the ability of steelmakers to procure imported raw materials.

Even the  local scrap has seen a drop due to a slow market, with domestic shipyard scrap being offered at around BDT 29,000/MT ex Chittagong, down by over BDT 1000/MT against previous weeks.