New import offers for scrap in bulk in Bangladesh have posted a slight increase this week, given the bullishness in Turkey. However, end-users in the country are very reluctant to accept an increase in deal prices amid still low demand. Meanwhile, although import offers for containerized scrap have remained mainly unchanged, Bangladeshi buyers have remained inactive, with only occasional deals for small batches reported in the market.
Specifically, prices for ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap in bulk have increased by $20/mt week on week to $420/mt CFR Bangladesh, while offers for ex-Europe HMS I/II 80:20 scrap have been reported at $415/mt CFR. However, according to market insiders, no deals have been reported so far as buyers’ sentiments are still at $400/mt CFR levels for HMS grade materials. “The big Bangladeshi buyers are already booked until December. Maybe we will see five to six cargoes booked for early-to-mid November shipments,” a Bangladeshi trader stated.
Meanwhile, offers prices for ex-UK shredded scrap in containers in Bangladesh have remained mainly unchanged over the past week, standing at $470/mt CFR, while offers for ex-UK HMS I/II 80:20 scrap have been reported at $450/mt CFR. “We heard only a few bookings were done for both shredded and HMS grade scrap at $470/mt CFR and $450/mt CFR, respectively,” a market insider said, “Small buyers are finding it very hard now as they have to rely on local scraps or imported containers, while the gap between prices in bulk and in containers is very big,” another source told SteelOrbis.
Market insiders have some hopes for a demand recovery amid the approaching construction season in the October-March period, “but we have to wait and see if higher prices of finished steel will affect construction or not,” a source commented.
Prices for 10-16 mm rebar from the biggest Bangladeshi producers have dropped slightly to BDT 85,000-88,000/mt ($840-869/mt) ex-works Chittagong, while the workable level from secondary mills in Dhaka has settled at BDT 79,000/mt ($780/mt) ex-works.
$1 = BDT 101.22
