The local Indian scrap market has been muted during the past week with prices remaining range-bound, showing marginal changes only in northern Indian markets, traders said on Wednesday, August 7.
According to market sources, the price of HMS I/II 80:20 scrap has inched up by a marginal INR 200/mt week on week to INR 25,500/mt ($360/mt) ex-yard in Mandi Govindgarh in northern India, while scrap prices have remained unchanged at INR 24,200/mt ($342/mt) ex-yard in Alang in western India.
The sources said that the sluggish demand for scrap in India is largely owing to the sluggishness of finished steel prices, while secondary steel producers which are predominantly medium-scale are impacted more compared to large integrated steel mills.
The sources said that most of the 150 odd furnaces in and around Mandi Govindgarh have sharply reduced their scrap procurement in the wake of the sharp fall in bookings of ingots by downstream value-addition units producing finished steel for manufacturers of automobile parts located in the region.
Indian scrap import prices have decreased by $5/mt during the past week to $300/mt CFR Mumbai, with market reports indicating no inward container traffic arriving at Nhava Seva port in western India, market sources said.
The sources said that, apart from softening finished steel prices and the seasonal dip in sales of construction grade steel, traders have stayed away from imports largely owing to the sharp depreciation of the Indian currency against the US dollar.
With the Indian rupee recording its biggest slump in six years and inching towards the INR 71 to the dollar mark, importing traders have remained cautious about concluding fresh import contracts.
The sources said that currency risks will continue to remain high in view of the geopolitical skirmish over the Chinese currency and that the Indian rupee is also expected to remain under pressure against the dollar following rising political tensions in the Indian sub-continent, while nervous traders are expected to stay away from large import transactions.
$1 = INR 70.75