India: Imported scrap trades improve marginally at lower offers

Indian scrap market has witnessed a marginal improvement in imported scrap trades during the past one week. Prices have dropped significantly on a weekly basis. Moreover, now suppliers are holding back offers and waiting for the market to stabilize, SteelMint learnt.

SteelMint’s assessment for containerised shredded of UK/US origin stands at $435/t CFR Nhava Sheva level, down by $10 w-o-w.

Confirmed recent trades-

• Trades of 3,000 t of Dubai origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was concluded at around $385-390/t CFR basis
• Towards the closing of last week, a prominent Indian steel mill had booked 3,000 t of MS shredded scrap of UK/Europe origin in containers at $435-440/t CFR Nhava Sheva basis

Furthermore, few lots of HMS were booked by Chennai-based mills. The quantity and price remain unconfirmed till the time of publishing this report.

Fresh offers-

• Fresh offers from UK/EU for imported shredded scrap are being cited at $425-435/t CFR Nhava Sheva levels, witnessing a sharp drop of $20-25/t w-o-w
• UK and Australia origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) is now being offered at $410/t CFR levels
• HMS 1&2 (80:20) from Middle-East is now being offered at $385-395/t CFR level, decreasing considerably by $20-30 w-o-w

Domestic scrap prices remain supportive: Domestic scrap prices remained supportive in most of the scrap-based markets on healthy semi-finished transactions. Steel melting scrap movement in Punjab has been halted amid an ongoing strike by Iron Scrap Traders Welfare Association in Punjab market. The strike has come into effect from 17th Mar’21 following which trade participants turned inactive and no firm offers were seen in the market.

SteelMint’s assessment for HMS in Western India stands at INR 29,300/t DAP Mumbai, down by INR 300/t w-o-w, and at INR 29,800/t DAP Jalna level, stable w-o-w.

Secondary rebar price up on rising billet prices: Induction grade rebar market witnessed an uptrend today, owing to rising semi-finished steel prices. In major markets of Western moderate buying inquiries and trades in rebar steel along with slight recovery in billet prices pushed manufacturers to either keep their offers stable or adjust the discount offer as per the requirement, sources reported. SteelMint’s assessment for Rebar (IF grade) in Western India stands steady at INR 46,300/t exw Mumbai, slightly up by INR 100/t w-o-w.

Outlook: Market insiders believe that no firm buying interest has been observed in India and a  clear picture might emerge by next week.