BANGLADESH STEEL SCRAP: Offers rise but demand limited ahead of holidays

Offer prices to the key import steel scrap market in Bangladesh have gone up over the past week, but demand for scrap material was low ahead of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday April 1.

Import markets across Asia have received higher offers for steel scrap this week, with strong rebar and billet markets giving many steelmakers excellent margins and more room to pay for scrap in markets such as Turkey. Rising bulk and container freight costs were also driving up prices.
But it was unlikely that there would be much action in the deep-sea markets to Bangladesh ahead of Ramadan, which will be celebrated in Bangladesh from April 12 until May 12, with the Eid al-Fitr celebration on May 13-14, sources said.
"From the end of April until the middle of May, business will be down to nil," a Bangladeshi steelmaker source said on April 1.

"In the days around Eid, there are restrictions on goods being transported on the roads, and during Ramadan official...

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