Import scrap prices in India have increased for the second consecutive week amid a combination of few sellers being active in the sub-continent and some slight optimism on the global supply front, but no deals have been reported with secondary mills suffering from the sustained fall in finished steel prices, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Wednesday, September 11.
Ex-UK/Europe containerised shredded scrap has been quoted higher only by a few sellers heard to be submitting offers in the range of $390-395/mt CFR Nhava Sheva port in the west, compared to $385-390/mt CFR a week ago.
But considering the continuous slide in prices of rebar in the local market and the Indian rupee being at INR 84.00 against the US dollar, secondary mills have no appetite to restock imported raw material.
Furthermore, the sources said that secondary mills have reduced plant utilization levels to 74-80 percent, and there has been sufficient availability of cheaper local scrap to meet the lower raw material demand.
Ex-UK HMS (80:20) scrap is largely stable in the range of $365-370/mt CFR Kandla port, but no deals were confirmed in the market.
“The only hope on the horizon is that, with the monsoon rainy season to end in a few more weeks, construction activities will revive, providing some support for long products and enabling secondary mills to look at imports. But right now, it’s only a hope,” a Mumbai-based ferrous and non-ferrous scrap trader said.
“The rupee at a historical low and resulting in higher costs of hedging will continue to offer strong barriers to import sourcing,” he added.