Bangladesh: Mills extend silence on lockdown, trade limited

Bangladesh’s steel and scrap markets remained quiet for yet another week, owing to the extended lockdown restrictions. Moreover, domestic steel market sentiments remained dull due to the rainy season.  Notably, last week, SteelMint reported that the Bangladesh government has further extended its lockdown restrictions till 5 Aug’21, ordering shutdown of manufacturing plants.

Recent deals and offers

• A major scrap dealer has sold around 1,000 t of UK/US-origin shredded to a steelmaker at $550/t CFR Chittagong .
• Fresh offers for UK/EU-origin shredded are at $555-565/t CFR Chittagong levels.
• SteelMint’s assessment for containerised shredded stands at $555/t, CFR Chittagong, down by $5/t w-o-w.
• HMS 1&2 of different origins are being offered at $525-530/t CFR. However, no deals were reported at these levels.

Bulk scrap offers fall marginally

Bulk scrap trade offers to Bangladesh remained absent for yet another week, despite a few offers from bulk suppliers being quoted.,But buyers showed little interest. Market players would likely resume their bookings in the coming weeks as part of their seasonal buying, sources informed SteelMint.

Indicative offers for Japanese H2 stand at $590-595/t CFR Chittagong , lower by $5-10/t w-o-w. Price indications for US-origin bulk HMS 1&2 (80:20) were heard at around $530/t CFR basis.

Domestic steel prices flat in absence of trade: The domestic market remained flat and mills have stopped their operations due to the strict lockdown extended till 5 Aug by the government, SteelMint learnt. A few mills tried to continue production with limited manpower, but were unsuccessful as they attracted the attention of the authorities which slapped hefty fines on them, said a market player. There was less demand for finished steel too due to the unavailability of logistics for material delivery.

Dhaka-based rebar prices remained unchanged at BDT 67,000-68,000/t exw. Major mills too have kept their rebar prices unchanged for three consecutive weeks at BDT 71,000-72,000/t exy-Chittagong.

Outlook
Bangladesh mills are likely to resume trade by next week, by when there would be some clarity on lifting of the lockdown. However, with rains expected to recede and construction activities expected to resume in Sept-Oct, mills may soon start restocking scrap inventories, SteelMint understands.