Scrap prices have continued to edge up in India, with secondary steel producers increasing their local sourcing in reaction to the consolidation of imported scrap offers, SteelOrbis learned on Wednesday, January 2.
Ex-UAE scrap offers have firmed up by $5/mt and crossed the $300/mt mark, reaching $302-304/mt CFR Nhava Sheva port in western India. Rare deals have been reported in the market during the past week at the higher end of the range of around $303-304/mt CFR as buyers among local secondary steel producers remained cautious over high offer levels coupled with the Indian rupee weakening to INR 71.40 against the US dollar during the past week with a further negative bias in the medium term, the sources said.
“The uptrend in international imported scrap offers might have eased and Turkish prices stabilized during the week, but this is only temporary due to festive and year-end considerations. 2020 will see further gains in scrap offers and local secondary steel producers are unwilling to commit large bookings as their finished steel product pricing has limitations in passing on higher raw material costs,” a member of the Metal Recycling Association of India (MRAI) said.
As a result, Indian secondary producers have remained interested in local sourcing. Market sources said that local scrap prices have increased by INR 300/mt ($4/mt) to INR 24,400/mt ($342/mt) ex-stockyard at Mandi Govindgarh in northern India. Prices have gained INR 200/mt ($3/mt) to 23,300/mt ($326/mt) ex-stockyard at Alang in western India.
$1 = INR 71.40