SOUTH ASIA STEEL SCRAP: Prices stabilize on fresh trading

Prices for shredded steel scrap into Pakistan and India remained steady in the week to Friday September 3 after trading activity returned, sources told Fastmarkets.

Pakistan
Fastmarkets calculated its weekly steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Port Qasim, Pakistan at $524.96 per tonne on Friday, compared with $525.57 per tonne the previous week.

At the start of the week, deals were heard at $519 and $520 per tonne, but during the week prices increased to $525-528 per tonne, before deals and offers of $530 per tonne were heard at the end of the week.

Deals were heard at $515-530 per tonne the previous week.

Prices rose during the week because strong demand for shredded scrap created a shortage of the material, sources said.

India
Fastmarkets’ calculation of the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India was $516.59 per tonne on Friday September 3, from $514.67 per tonne on Tuesday August 31 and $512.64 per tonne on Friday August 27.

A deal was heard at $518 per tonne during the week, up from a deal heard at $510 per tonne one week earlier.

Offers ranged from $515-520 per tonne during the week, compared with offers as high as $520 per tonne the previous week.

Market participants were optimistic about activity in September following the end of monsoon season in the country. They expect good sentiment to continue into October, which traditionally has good trading conditions.

“The market is pretty confusing, one day they want to buy, and then they don’t. I expect demand to come back [in the] good business months [of] September and October,” a seller said. 

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India was $440-460 per tonne on September 3, unchanged week on week.