Several Bangladeshi steelmakers have exited the market for imports of steel scrap in recent days, piling further pressure on already-weakening prices, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 24.
No deep-sea bulk imports have been booked into Bangladesh over the past week, while deals for material in containers were closed at lower prices than in the previous week.
"I think Bangladesh has completed this buying round of bulk cargoes, and mills will come back [to the market] in one month," a South Asian trader source said.
"All mills have suddenly gone into a huddle, left the market, and expect prices to drop further," he added.
"Container scrap offers have corrected but bulk offers are not a lot cheaper," an exporter source said, citing a
strong recent performance in the domestic steel scrap markets in the United States and expectations that prices in October negotiations would again increase month on month.
Offers of scrap to Bangladesh from the US West Coast have dried up over the past week, with exporters...