South Asia: Imported scrap markets slow down; heavy rains curtail activity in India

• Strong US dollar keeps Indian buyers cautious
• Pakistani mills running at 30-40% of capacity

South Asia’s imported scrap markets remained sluggish, with weak demand. Heavy rains stalled trades in India and Pakistan, while Bangladesh grappled with a wide bid-offer gap. Turkiye showed stability, with firm deep-sea prices despite muted short-sea interest.

India: India’s imported scrap market stayed dull, with poor demand, as a strong dollar and weak sentiment kept buyers cautious. Offers were heard for HMS 80:20 West Africa at $330/t, UK HMS 80:20 at $325-330/t, and shredded at $365/t CFR.

Market activity was further slowed down by heavy monsoon rains, which have dragged on longer than usual this year. Traders pointed to uncertainty regarding the post-monsoon outlook, with limited inquiries and no major improvement expected in scrap imports despite hopes of a GST-led boost in domestic demand.

Pakistan: Pakistan’s imported scrap market was dull, with offers at $370-375/t CFR. Weak GBP-USD conversion and heavy rains curbed demand, with mills running at 30-40% capacity.

Panic sales emerged as rains and sluggish demand pushed offers lower. Saturation and margin pressure continued to weigh on participants, and the latest price drop reflects weak buying interest across major locations.

Bangladesh: The imported scrap market remained quiet, with limited activity as buyers and sellers struggled to bridge the wide bid-offer gap. Australian shredded was heard at $380/t CFR Chattogram, while bids lagged at $370/t, keeping the market largely inactive.

Turkiye: Turkiye’s imported scrap market stayed stable d-o-d, with deep-sea prices moving sideways amid limited activity. Tradable HMS 80:20 levels held steady at $342-346/t CFR.

Short-sea demand in Turkiye was muted, as buyers resisted higher offers and sellers diverted cargoes to the EU markets. With mills cautious and finished steel demand weak, inflows remained under pressure, keeping overall trade quiet.

Price assessments

India: UK-origin shredded prices fell by $1/t to $364/t CFR Nhava Sheva compared previous day.

Pakistan: UK-origin shredded indicatives dropped by $2/t d-o-d to $374/t CFR Qasim.

Bangladesh: UK-origin shredded prices remained stable d-o-d at $372/t CFR Chattogram.

Turkiye: US-origin HMS (80:20) bulk scrap prices remains stable to $344/t CFR Turkiye compared previous day.