South Asia: Imported scrap markets remain muted

• Bangladesh: Scrap demand weak, prices fail to attract buyers
• Pakistan: Import buying selective, workable levels narrowly defined

South Asia’s imported scrap markets remained largely subdued, with India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh seeing weak buying interest amid ample inventories and selective procurement, while Turkiye stayed comparatively firm as tight supply and winter-led collection constraints supported prices.

India: India’s imported containerised ferrous scrap market remained subdued, with limited activity amid regional holidays. Small parcels were reported, including 200 t of Costa Rica-origin HMS 60:40 at $312-316/t, 1,750 t of mixed HMS 60:40 and 70:30 at $316/t, and 500 t of NTP at $350/t on immediate payment terms. Meanwhile, UK-origin shredded scrap was offered at around $355-358/t CFR, while HMS 80:20 was indicated near $330/t CFR, with sufficient HMS and super scrap inventories keeping buying interest muted.

Pakistan: The imported scrap market remained selective, with buyers focusing only on workable price levels of around $365/t CFR for EU-origin shredded and $370–375/t CFR for UAE-origin shredded. UAE-origin scrap prices have risen by about $5-6/t over the past five to six days, providing additional support to regional benchmarks, while HMS and PNS scrap were assessed at roughly $350-355/t CFR.

In the domestic market, Punjab/KPK rebar continued to trade at around PKR 220,000-225,000/t ($786-804/t), reflecting firm steel prices despite cautious scrap buying.

Bangladesh: The imported scrap market remained weak, with buyers showing limited appetite and selective procurement. Australian HMS 80:20 was indicated at $340-342/t and shredded at $362-364/t, while PNS was heard at around $355/t, busheling at $360/t, and HMS 1 at about $338/t, keeping buying interest subdued.

Turkiye: Deep-sea imported scrap prices edged higher recently and then stabilised, supported by tight availability and limited sell-side participation at the start of the week. A US-origin HMS 80:20 cargo was reportedly concluded at around $373/t CFR, while US-origin offers were heard at $375-380/t with bids around $370-374/t, reinforcing the firmer tone in the Turkish import scrap market.

Market participants highlighted increasing stress as mills sought material amid winter-led collection constraints across Europe, which continued to restrict supply and underpin prices despite cautious buying.