Bangladesh: Falling scrap prices, lower bids put pressure on rebar offers

Bangladesh’s domestic steel (rebar) market remained under pressure this week too owing to falling scrap prices and lower bids. The continuous rainfall has left a negative impact on construction activities which, in turn, led to a price correction by steel mills.

Major mills in Bangladesh are offering rebar (10-16 mm) at BDT 76,000-78,000/tonne ($886-909/t) exw-Chittagong, down by BDT 1,000/t ($12/t) w-o-w.

Also, Dhaka-based steel plants lowered offers to BDT 71,000-72,000/t ($827-839/t) on an exy-basis, down by BDT 1,000/t ($12/t) w-o-w.

Imported scrap market subdued

Bangladesh’s imported scrap market remained quiet this week with limited deals concluded, as many steel mills have actively restocked bulk cargoes in the last week of Nov’21. At present, the market has turned silent.

Bulk offers from US fall, Kanto tender outcome awaited

Despite huge bulk offers available in the market, no fresh deal has been concluded. Suppliers are voluntarily quoting fresh offers to steel mills, owing to the fact that other bulk buyers like Vietnam are out of the market. Meanwhile, offers from the US and Japan have come down significantly.

• A major mill booked around 15,000 t of bulk Japanese H2 at $562-563/t CFR Chittagong basis, last week.
• Fresh indicative offers for H2 grade are being reported at $555-560/t CFR Chittagong levels, down by $10-15/t w-o-w.
• US-origin bulk offers for shredded and HMS 1&2 (80:20) are heard at $550/t CFR and $540-545/t CFR levels. However, no deals have been heard.

A Japanese scrap trader said, “The monthly Kanto scrap export tender is due tomorrow. The market is waiting for the results for a clear picture.”

Container market sees fewer deals

The containerised scrap market remained less active this week. However, offers slightly decreased on a weekly basis. Dull domestic sentiments kept the imported market quiet. Mills seem to have kept purchases on hold on expectation of further price corrections.

• Fresh offers for shredded are being quoted at $565-570/t CFR Chittagong levels, mostly stable on a weekly basis.
• Around 4,000 t of HMS in containers from the UK has been booked by a steel mill at $535/t CFR Chittagong, earlier this week.