South Asia: Imported scrap demand remains weak; bids trail offers

• • Turkiye: Wait-and-watch sentiment keeps deep-sea trading subdued

• • Bangladesh: Mills delay purchases, wait for lower import prices

South Asia’s imported ferrous scrap markets remained under pressure on 30 June as weak steel demand, poor import viability and cautious buying kept trading activity subdued across India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Turkish mills maintained a wait-and-watch approach, limiting fresh deep-sea bookings.

India: Imported ferrous scrap prices remained subdued on 30 June, with buying activity staying negligible as prevailing offer levels continued to exceed buyers’ workable prices. Market participants described the import market as “slow”, with mills continuing need-based procurement amid weak steel demand and poor import economics.

Offer indications for UK-origin shredded scrap were heard at around $390/t CFR, while buyers remained $15-20/t below these levels. US-origin HMS 80:20 was heard at $335-340/t CFR, while Africa-origin LMS bundles were offered at $305/t CFR. UK-origin turnings were reported at $300/t CFR Nhava Sheva/Chennai.

Pakistan: Imported shredded scrap prices remained under pressure, with buying activity staying muted amid the Muharram holidays and weak steel demand. A deal for UK/EU-origin shredded scrap was concluded at $402/t CFR Qasim, following an earlier transaction at $401/t CFR. Fresh offers were heard around $405/t CFR, although market participants indicated that workable levels remained at $401-402/t CFR amid subdued buying interest.

Bangladesh: The imported ferrous scrap market remained under pressure, with buying enquiries from major mills in Dhaka and Chattogram remaining limited amid weak steel demand. Offer indications were heard at $365/t CFR for UK-origin HMS 80:20, $365-370/t CFR for Brazil-origin HMS 80:20, and $390-395/t CFR for Brazil-origin shredded scrap. US-origin HMS 80:20 was heard at workable levels of $350-355/t CFR, while buyers largely stayed on the sidelines awaiting lower prices.

Turkiye: Deep-sea imported scrap prices remained under pressure on 30 June, with market activity staying quiet at the start of the week as both buyers and sellers adopted a wait-and-watch approach. Weak finished steel demand and mills’ resistance to higher offer levels continued to weigh on sentiment.

A Baltic-origin HMS 80:20 cargo was reported sold at $377/t CFR, while tradable values for US-origin HMS 80:20 were assessed at $381-385/t CFR. Limited buying interest and the absence of fresh US offers kept trading activity subdued, with prices expected to remain under pressure in the near term.