Although trade activity in the import scrap market in Bangladesh has remained slow this week mainly due to weak finished steel demand, market insiders expect some improvement once the banking sector and financing facilities are streamlined following the new government formation.
According to sources, while offers for ex-Australia shredded scrap in containers have been voiced at $425/mt CFR, down by $5-10/mt over the past two weeks, a few deals for ex-Australia and ex-New Zealand shredded scrap have been signed at $425/mt CFR and $430/mt CFR, respectively. Besides, another deal for ex-US shredded scrap has been reported at $413-415/mt CFR.
In the meantime, a few deals for small tonnages, less than 1,000 mt each, are reported to have been signed for ex-Chile HMS I/II (80:20) at $397/mt CFR and for ex-Brazil HMS I/II (80:20) at $410/mt CFR. This means the prices have lost around $5/mt over the past two weeks.
However, in the bulk segment, trade has remined in a lull, while indicative offers for ex-US HMS grade scrap have decreased by $5/mt to $405/mt CFR. “Opening letters of Credits (LCs) is still a very slow process in Bangladesh, but in the next few weeks we expect banks to resume LC operations,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.