- Indian scrap buyers cautious amid weak steel demand
- Turkish offers remain range-bound before Eid holiday
The South Asian imported scrap market remained unchanged d-o-d amid cautious buyer sentiment. Weak domestic steel demand, coupled with high freight costs and seasonal slowdowns ahead of Eid and monsoon periods, led to limited buying activity.
In India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, mills managed inventories carefully while navigating tight margins. Additionally, buying interest in imported scrap declined amid competitive prices of alternative raw materials. As a result, bookings remained low, with market participants closely watching for any signs of revival in the near term.
Market overview
India: India’s imported scrap market stayed weak due to soft finished steel demand and competition from cheaper alternatives such as sponge iron and pellets. Unseasonal rainfall further reduced demand, while mills operated on very tight margins, making it difficult to justify higher scrap prices. Shredded was offered at $370-375/t CFR, but bids remained lower at $360-365/t, resulting in few bookings. Meanwhile, HMS 80:20 was heard at $345-350/t CFR, while buyers’ bids were at around $335-340/t CFR.
Pakistan: Pakistan’s imported scrap market remained subdued amid high freight costs and weak domestic steel demand. With the upcoming Eid holidays, market activity slowed further, and overall sentiment remained cautious with thin margins and muted downstream buying. Shredded offers from the UK/Europe were at around $380-385/t CFR Port Qasim, but buyer interest was limited, with only small trades at $382-383/t recorded. UAE-origin shredded stood at $390-392/t and HMS was offered at $370-375/t but saw little traction. In the domestic market, rebar prices stood at PKR 235,000-238,000/t ($833-843/t), which local scrap tags held steady at PKR 135,000-140,000/t ($478-496/t).
Bangladesh: Bangladesh’s imported scrap market remained sluggish amid ongoing letter of credit (LC) issues, high freights, and a seasonal slowdown ahead of the Eid holidays and monsoon. Mills avoided large bookings, focusing instead on managing inventories. Only limited trades were heard – PNS from Singapore/Malaysia at $380-385/t CFR and Brazilian shredded at $370/t CFR.
Domestic rebar prices stood at BDT 82,000-83,000/t in Dhaka, down by BDT 3,000-4,000/t from early May levels. With Eid holidays from the first week of June and the national budget ahead, sentiment is expected to remain weak through mid-June.
Turkiye: The Turkish imported scrap market remained subdued as the Eid holiday approaches, with no sales activity observed early in the week. Prices remained range-bound once again due to the ongoing lack of significant activity, though market participants are hopeful for some movement in the coming days. Only a limited number of cargoes have been booked for June so far.
Price assessments
India: UK-origin shredded indicatives were assessed at $366/t CFR Nhava Sheva, unchanged d-o-d.
Pakistan: UK-origin shredded indicatives stood at $382/t CFR Qasim, down by $3/t d-o-d.
Bangladesh: UK-origin shredded prices were assessed at $377/t CFR Chattogram, unchanged d-o-d.
Turkiye: US-origin HMS (80:20) bulk scrap prices were assessed at $346/t CFR Turkiye, up by $2/t d-o-d.
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