- Indian prices hold firm on tight shredded supply
- Rebar gains support higher scrap buying in Turkiye
South Asian imported scrap markets remained firm on 18 September. Indian prices were firm as shredded remained in tight supply despite limited buying; the Pakistani market was stable with many mills shut; and Bangladeshi prices held near elevated levels. The Turkish scrap market strengthened, with HMS tradeable prices approaching the $400/t level, supported by firm rebar prices and tight scrap availability.
India: India’s imported scrap market remained firm d-o-d, with an Israel-origin HMS 80:20 cargo reportedly booked at $350/t CFR Mundra with 5% impurities. African loose HMS was offered at $360-365/t CFR on draft-BL payment, while buyers indicated similar levels on CAD terms. However, high Pre-Shipment Inspection Certificate costs and limited trader margins continued to constrain import activity.
Shredded scrap remained in tight supply, with 500-t lots of New Zealand-origin shredded reportedly sold at $405/t and $409/t CFR Mundra. Several mills in Mandi and Ludhiana have largely paused buying amid elevated domestic scrap availability and healthy inventories, while rebar producers are finding current import prices difficult to absorb.
Pakistan: The imported scrap market remained stable, with EU-origin shredded scrap reportedly sold at $419/t CFR Qasim. However, the Statutory Regulatory Order has created a clear disparity in operating costs, with mills using over 70% imported scrap paying PKR 5/unit in additional electricity-linked sales tax, versus PKR 30/unit for mills below the threshold. Most mills remain shut down, limiting buying activity due to new taxes.
Bangladesh: The imported scrap market remained firm at elevated levels, with prices holding high for the past two weeks. Australian/New Zealand shredded scrap was booked at $400-410/t CFR Chattogram, while HMS 90:10 traded at $385-390/t and Latin American HMS 90:10 at $370-375/t. Singapore- and Malaysia-origin cargoes were considered expensive, with buyers targeting around $395/t, while local scrap stood at BDT 55,000-58,000/t.
Turkiye: The deep-sea imported scrap market remained stable d-o-d on 18 September, hovering around a three-month high, as bullish sentiment persisted despite increasing buyer resistance at elevated levels. Tradable US and high-grade HMS 80:20 were heard at $395/t to above $400/t CFR, with most indications around $400/t. US sellers were offering at $400-405/t CFR.
Limited European scrap availability and expensive freight, linked to elevated oil prices, continued to raise collection and delivery costs, supporting higher supplier offers. Meanwhile, Turkish mills increased rebar export offers to $630-650/t FOB, seeking improved finished-steel realisations and greater room to absorb higher scrap costs.
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