The situation in the import scrap market in Bangladesh has still been difficult this week with low demand and the problem regarding letters of credit (LCs) continuing. But if prices for container scrap have remained mainly stable over the past week, the indications for bulk scrap have fallen further and buyers have been more willing to negotiate at much lower levels.
In particular, the tradable level for ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap by bulk has softened by $15-20/mt over the past week to $380-385/mt CFR. And though offers from the US were as high as $410-415/mt CFR last week, market sources said that, if sellers want to push volumes, there is no other chance than to cut prices to buyers’ price idea. The tradable level for shredded in bulk in Bangladesh has been at $385-390/mt CFR, while for P&S they have been at $390-395/mt CFR. “There is no deal in Bangladesh at all this week. It’s due to the LC problem, but Bangladesh needs huge volumes to run all mills at full capacity,” a source said.
In the container scrap segment, there has been no deal reported after last week’s sale of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap at $406/mt CFR and the current level is the same. An offer for ex-Australia HMS I/II 90:10 has been at $414/mt CFR this week, just $1/mt below last week. The workable level for shredded in containers has been assessed at $420-425/mt CFR, down by $5/mt over the past week, but offers have been rare and still mainly not below $425/mt CFR.