Importscrapprices inIndiahave moved sharply in either direction without an evident short-term trend, but no deals have been heard in the market amid the weak outlook in the rebar market and secondary mills being under no compulsion to restock raw materials amid risks of volatile prices, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Wednesday, July 7.
Early in the week, ex-US containerized shreddedscrapprices fell to sub-$500/mt CFR levels at $490-495/mt CFR, but bounced back to around $510-520/mt CFR, which was again lower than $520-525/mt CFR Nhava Sheva Port last week.
However, the sources said that no deals were concluded even at the week’s lowest levels as the bearish seasonal outlook of the rebar market has prompted secondary steel mills to stay away from restocking raw materials until rebar prices and demand improve after the end of current monsoon season’s low construction activity.
The sources said that, with the absence of any buying interest from local secondary mills,scrapsellers have switched their focus and have been diverting volumes to Pakistan, where the exporters can sell shreddedscrapat higher valuations of around $530-535/mt CFR and even at $540/mt CFR already.
“Considering the slowdown in rebar demand and soft prices, it is not viable for secondary mills to risk volatility in the importedscrapmarket. Secondary mills are preferring sponge iron as feedstock for their limited raw material requirements,” a Mumbai-basedscraptrader said.
According to another trader, apart from the sharp divergent movement in importedscrapprices, the Indian rupee falling 1.6 percent against the US dollar, emerging as the worst performing currency in Asia, has kept importers away from the market to avoid the twin risks of fluctuatingscrapprices and the rapid devaluation of the rupee.