Import scrap prices in India have showed marginal changes amid conflicting expectations on short-term trends, prompting local secondary mills to defer bookings, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Wednesday, September 21.
Sources said that, while local induction furnace operators were adequately stocked ahead of the festival holidays, divergent price expectations in some originating countries, weakening in some and stable in others, prompted buyers to wait for a clearer short-term trend to emerge.
Ex-Europe containerized shredded scrap prices have been reported at $450/mt CFR Nhava Sheva port in the west, just slightly down from $450-455/mt CFR seen last week. Ex-EU HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices have been reported at $430-435/mt CFR, marginally lower than $440/mt CFR a week ago.
Sellers from Dubai continued to hold back offers to the sub-continent, expecting prices to consolidate before accepting bookings.
“Both buyers and sellers in the region are holding back bids and offers waiting for clear market signals. We hear some price stability in Turkey and the Middle East. But there is a lot of skepticism in consuming regions whether this stability will hold because rising energy costs in the EU region will continue to force furnace operators to lower output and render a lot of raw material surplus,” a Mumbai-based ferrous and non-ferrous scrap trader said.
“Local buyers are in no hurry to restock raw materials with a lot of holidays ahead and can well afford to hold back bids. Also, buyers will not be aggressive in booking imported raw materials, unless local rebar prices rebound from overall weak trends,” he said.