India: Imported scrap market quiet on lower finished steel sales

India’s imported scrap market remained quiet for yet another week. Traders and mills kept away from booking cargoes on falling steel margins. However, other South Asian scrap buying countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh were actively restocking for the monsoon.

“No firm trade has been reported for India, while market sentiments softened,” said a source.
Meanwhile, huge disparity in bids and offers slowed down trading activities. July will remain slow for fresh scrap bookings as mills have cut production, SteelMint learnt from sources.

The Indian rupee (INR) continued to depreciate against the dollar and is trading at 74.57 vis-à-vis 74.2 levels a week ago.

Recent offers

• Fresh offers for UK/EU-origin shredded are being cited at $540/t CFR, largely stable on a weekly basis. However, hardly any interest isseen from secondary units, SteelMint understands.
• Offers for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) stand at $475-480/t CFR while HMS 1 from the same origin is being quoted at $490/t CFR.
• UK-origin HMS is being quoted at $495/t CFR, firm w-o-w.

Imported scrap trade is likely to remain slow due to the onset of the monsoon, mainly in western India. Moreover, due to less finished steel demand amidst lockdown restrictions, production remains low.

Domestic scrap prices edge lower on subdued sentiments: Melting scrap prices downtrend in almost all major regional scrap markets this week. Prices in many key markets witnessed correction by around INR 2,500/t w-o-w, owing to subdued steel sentiments. SteelMint’s assessment for HMS in western India is at INR 33,100 /t DAP Mumbai, down by INR 700/t w-o-w, and the same is at INR 32,500/t DAP for Jalna, down by INR 1,300/t w-o-w. Ferrous scrap prices in the near-term are likely to remain range-bound, trading sources informed SteelMint.

Rebar prices decrease significantly on low buying interest: Producers in a few markets clung to their offers due to an overall bearish sentiment amid volatile semi-finished steel prices. Lack of buying inquiries and limited bookings led to fall in prices. According to SteelMint’s assessment, induction furnace (IF) grade rebar prices in Mumbai stand at INR 45,200/t exw, falling by INR 200/t w-o-w.