Following a relatively long pause in scrap bookings, trade activity has improved slightly in the containerized segment in Bangladesh this week. At the same time, no purchases of scrap in bulk have been reported, with indicative prices exceeding offers in containers.
Specifically, several deals for around 1,000/mt each for ex-UK shredded scrap have been reported at around $440-445/mt CFR, while most offers are still voiced at around $450/mt CFR, the same as two weeks ago. Besides, a deal for ex-Brazil HMS I/II 90:10 scrap has been reported at $430/mt CFR, while other several batches for ex-Singapore and ex-Malaysia PNS scrap have been sold to Bangladesh at $455/mt CFR. At the same time, although more bookings have been reported in Bangladesh this week, market insiders are still reporting a very slow demand recovery, and continuous problems with opening letters of credit. “All my sellers are still quite as the problem with opening LCs has not yet improved here in Bangladesh. We expect some movement from the second week of January 2023,” a Bangladeshi trader told SteelOrbis.
At the same time, the indicative offers for ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in bulk have been voiced at $435-440/mt CFR, compared to $410/mt CFR two weeks ago.
In the meantime, the price of 10-16 mm rebar in Bangladesh has been relatively stable this week and it is available at around BDT 85,000-92,000/mt ($827-895/mt) ex-warehouse, depending on the supplier.
$1 = BDT 102.81