The South Asian scrap market faced sluggish demand across key regions, with India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh all reporting limited buying interest amid challenging conditions in the domestic steel markets.
India saw weak demand for imported scrap, with offers for shredded and HMS scrap remaining stable but unappealing to buyers. Pakistan’s steel mills reduced production due to high inventory and slow rebar sales, while Bangladesh experienced a bid-offer gap and a slowdown in domestic demand, further dampening scrap purchases. Meanwhile, Turkiye’s scrap market remained stable, caught in a buyer-seller stand-off, driven by tight margins and rising costs.
Overview
A slowdown in demand continues to plague India: In India, demand for imported scrap remained sluggish due to weak buying interest. Indicative offers for shredded scrap from the US and the UK/Europe were at around $385-390/tonne (t) CFR Nhava Sheva, while HMS (80:20) offers stood at $365-370/t CFR.
Supply glut prompts production cuts in Pakistan: Pakistani buyers showed little interest in imported scrap, as the domestic steel market remained weak. Steel mills have reduced production due to high inventory levels and weak rebar sales, leading to lower scrap consumption. Indicative offers for shredded scrap from the UK/Europe were at $390-395/t CFR Qasim.
Bangladesh witnesses price corrections in domestic scrap: Bangladesh’s imported scrap market remained dull today due to a significant bid-offer gap and a slowdown in the domestic steel market. Offers for Australian and New Zealand shredded scrap were still higher at $400-410/t CFR. UAE-origin shredded scrap offers hovered at $385/t CFR, while buyers countered them with bids of $370/t.
Domestic scrap prices witnessed correction, with local HMS scrap at BDT 52,000-53,000/t, while rebar prices held steady at BDT 87,0000-88,000/t ex-Chattogram and BDT 82,000-84,000/t ex-Dhaka.
Turkish market holds steady amid bid-offer mismatch: The Turkish imported scrap market remained stable today, with US-origin HMS (80:20) offers firm at $370/t CFR.
Sellers faced rising collection costs, particularly in Europe, but Turkish mills resisted higher offers due to tight rebar margins. With exports priced at $578-580/t FOB and domestic rebar at $590-600/t exw, mills found higher scrap prices unworkable, leading to a stalemate between buyers and sellers.
Price assessments
India: UK-origin shredded scrap indicatives remain stable d-o-d at $387/t CFR Nhava Sheva.
Pakistan: UK-origin shredded indicatives slightly up d-o-d to $393/t CFR Qasim.
Bangladesh: UK-origin shredded prices were reported to be stable d-o-d at $400/t CFR Chattogram.
Turkiye: US-origin HMS (80:20) bulk prices remained stable d-o-d at $370/t CFR Turkiye.
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