The United States, the world’s largest ferrous scrap supplier, witnessed a significant 25% m-o-m rise in exports of the material to 2.01 million tonnes (mn t) in May’21 as against 1.61 mn t in Apr’21, as per customs data compiled by SteelMint.
On a y-o-y basis, exports were up by 45% to a five-year high of 2.01 mnt in May’21 from 1.39 mn t in May’20.
Mexico was the top importer with 0.33 mn t in May’21, followed by Turkey and Malaysia with 0.28 mn t and 0.24 mn t respectively.
Market sentiments
Shipments rise for Bangladesh in May: Bangladesh, one of the major buyers of the US’ ferrous scrap, imported 0.22 mn t in May’21 compared to 0.05 mn t in the preceding month, an exceptional jump of 340% m-o-m. This was in line with buyers restocking inventories ahead of the Ramadan holidays at favourable price levels and lower bookings from Japan on freight rates volatility.
Ferrous scrap prices down in April: SteelMint’s assessment of US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) stood at $430/tonne (t) CFR Turkey in Apr’21, down by $9/t from $439/t CFR Turkey in Mar’21. Imported scrap offers fluctuated throughout the month and finally came come down on limited demand.
Outlook
Ferrous scrap exporters from the US expect prices to go up on increased demand from local producers and the finished steel segment. Suppliers would likely increase prices on good buying activity in Turkey as more cargoes are likely to be booked for June.
Leave a Reply