South Asia: Imported scrap markets show mixed sentiment during year-end slowdown

• Indian demand improves on rising rebar, billet prices
• Turkish scrap market stays quiet amid holiday closures

South Asia imported scrap markets remained mixed on 31 December. The Indian market was firm on stronger domestic steel prices, while Pakistan and Bangladesh were subdued due to weak mill buying. Turkiye remained quiet due to holidays, with prices stable and US-origin cargoes holding a premium.

India: Imported scrap market sentiment remained firm, with most sellers diverting cargoes to Mundra and Nhava Sheva due to better realisations compared with Chennai. European shredded was assessed at $350-355/t, UK-origin HMS 80:20 at $325-330/t, and Chilean HMS 90:10 at $330-335/t CFR. PNS from Hong Kong/Malaysia traded at $355-360/t CFR Chennai. Improved domestic rebar and billet prices, coupled with tightness in scrap supply and expectations of 8-9% steel demand growth in FY’26, encouraged buyers to turn more active.

Pakistan: The imported scrap market remained largely quiet, though a few deals were concluded with UAE suppliers in recent days. UK and UAE shredded scrap was traded at around $365-370/t CFR Qasim, while sheared HMS was priced near $345/t CFR. Total traded volume was captured today approximately 4,000-5,000 t, comprising roughly 2,500 t each of shredded and sheared HMS.

Market participants described sentiment as mildly positive, supported by buying activity of scrap from Turkiye and relatively higher domestic scrap prices in the UAE. However, most offers were quoted by middlemen, as direct mill buying interest remained weak, and the market was nearly closed, which limited fresh transactions and kept overall activity subdued.

Bangladesh: The imported scrap market in Bangladesh showed slight improvement towards the year-end because of restocking and limited availability of materials across mills. Indicative prices of PNS/busheling were assessed at $365-370/t CFR Chattogram, while HMS 90:10 and shredded were indicated in the range of $350-365/t CFR.

In Dhaka, rebar prices were at around BDT 75,000/t ($613/t), billets at BDT 63,000/t ($515/t), and scrap at BDT 47,000-48,000/t ($384-392/t). Chattogram rebar was about BDT 3,000/t ($25/t) higher, while overall prices stayed stable with a slight improvement in sentiment.

Turkiye: Turkiye’s deep-sea imported scrap market turned quiet due to the year-end holidays in Turkiye and international markets. Latest deals were concluded at the following levels: European HMS 80:20 was booked at $363-366/t CFR and US-origin HMS at $370-375/t CFR, alongside shredded at $388-390/t. In the absence of fresh trading, scrap prices remained stable d-o-d, with US-origin material maintaining a premium over European cargoes.