Customers in Bangladesh have slowed down their import scrap purchases significantly this week, as they have already bought their needed volumes and they expect to get lower prices in the coming period. Prices in both the bulk and container segments have showed declines over the past week, but bids have dropped even more.
Two fresh bookings have been reported in the market this week. One was for 30,000 mt of scrap from the US, of which 20,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 was priced at $495/mt CFR, while 10,000 mt of shredded scrap was sold at $500/mt CFR, for February shipment. This deal indicates minimal changes compared to three bulk bookings reported last week, in which the price level for bulk HMS I/II 80:20 was fixed at $495-500/mt CFR. However, a few sources agreed that “this deal must have been done before Tuesday, when everyone started to see a sharp fall,” a source said.
Another deal for bulk ex-US scrap has been rumoured at $485/mt CFR to Bangladesh, though there have been no details by the time of publication. “Suppliers are still asking $490/mt CFR for HMS. Buyers are not ready to book,” a trader said. Taking into account the recent price drop in Turkey, buyers from Bangladesh will come back to the market within a week with bids for bulk cargoes at $460-470/mt or below, market sources believe.
Offers for HMS I/II 80:20 in containers have been dropped considerably - to $440-445/mt CFR, down by $35-40/mt from a deal price level of $480/mt CFR reported last week. But trading has been very poor as buyers are waiting for further declines. Some even lower offers up to $420/mt CFR have been reported late this week, with no response so far. Demand for shredded scrap in containers has also been sluggish this week. “Even at $460/mt CFR there will be no takers,” a source said. Last week, offers and the tradable value for shredded scrap in containers was at $510/mt CFR.