Trading activity in the import scrap market in Bangladesh has continued to lack strength amid continued issues with opening letters of credit (LCs) and buyers’ expectations of further declines. Apart from small containerized bookings from Europe, there has been a deal for ex-Japan bulk scrap, but no movement has been seen in ex-US trading.
The latest small-tonnage deals for containerized shredded scrap have been reported in Bangladesh at $450/mt CFR, down by $5-10/mt from the level seen last week. In addition, several small batches of 1,000 mt each of ex-UK P&S scrap have been transacted at $460/mt CFR, which is $10/mt lower than the contract for the same origin signed a week ago. Offers for HMS I/II (80:20) scrap in containers are at around $420/mt CFR, versus $425-430/mt CFR last week. While in the previous week bids were seen at the current offer levels, buyers have further lowered their price ideas to $410/mt CFR or just slightly above. “The market is at a standstill since the LC issue is now even exerting more tightening than previously... All buyers are engaged with old commitments,” a trader said.
In the bulk segment, a booking of 15,000 mt of ex-Japan H2 scrap in Kanto's Tetsugen scrap export tender has been made at JPY 46,173/mt ($341/mt) FAS, down by JPY 4,383/mt from last month, with the dollar-based quotations declining by $39/mt from April, and this tonnage is for the Bangladeshi market, a few sources confirmed. The price translates to around $400-410/mt on CFR basis.
Bulk offers for ex-US HMS grade scrap have slipped by $10-15/mt over the past week to $420/mt CFR, but customers are expecting to get around $400/mt CFR.