Bangladeshi customers have resumed bulk scrap bookings recently after a long-standing pause. They have had to accept price levels up to $500/mt CFR for the benchmark HMS I/II scrap, having no other choice for now.
Two contracts for bulk ex-US West Coast scrap have been done recently. One was for 38,000 mt of a mixed cargo of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap and shredded from the US done at the average price of $503/mt CFR, according to reports from sources since Wednesday this week. Another cargo for 30,000 mt of ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap and shredded was sold at $500/mt CFR. A deal for 22,000 mt of scrap from Australia was also reported yesterday, Wednesday, in which 13,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 was priced at $500/mt CFR, while the rest of the volume was shredded scrap at $505/mt CFR.
These deal prices indicate that the tradable value for bulk HMS I/II 80:20 has been fixed at $495-500/mt CFR, while shredded was at $505/mt CFR and above. Though last week’s offers for HMS I/II 80:20 were reported at $510/mt CFR and above, the recent deals still show a strong price trend in Bangladesh, taking into account that in early January most bids were at about $485-490/mt CFR.
Also, in the Kanto Tetsugen export tender in Japan, 15,000 mt of H2 scrap was booked by an importer from Bangladesh at $431/mt FAS or above $480/mt CFR for Chittagong.
In the containerized scrap segment, around 9,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 from Australia have been traded at $480/mt CFR, against $475/mt CFR last week. Current offers for this grade are at $485/mt CFR and higher.
Offers and a tradable value for shredded scrap in containers have been reported at $510/mt CFR minimum, up by $5/mt from the previous workable level in Bangladesh.
Since steel mills in Bangladesh have been interested in restocking, having little time to wait, prices for imported scrap in the country have remained supported this week even despite the weakening of sentiments in the global market towards the end of the week.