Ferrous scrap trade to India recovers, clarity on PSIC rules awaited

NEW DELHI (Scrap Monster): The ferrous scrap trade to India has resumed, though with less volumes. The shredded scrap prices gained on the back of rise in global scrap prices. The demand remained weak. Exporters await further clarification on the Pre-Shipment Inspection Certificate (PSIC) rules announced earlier.

Traders in Europe are reported to be fulfilling old pending orders. New orders are not being processed for the time being. There are concerns that the shipment might be held back at ports, should the government decide to go ahead with the newly formulated scrap regulation which requires the Pre-Shipment Inspection Agency (PSIA) in the source country to make a video of duration between 3 to 5 minutes covering the inspection process carried out at containers.

The recent fall in Indian currency against the US dollar has also made the trade dull. According to traders, demand has started picking up slowly in India and is yet to reach robust levels. As a result, traders are reported to be serving orders from other countries, where prices are high.

However, despite weak demand, ferrous scrap prices are expected to trend higher during the month of May in line with the increased offers on international scrap. For instance, Turkish scrap prices recorded a weekly gain of $7.50 per mt to touch $275 per mt CFR on Friday. The containerized ferrous scrap prices rose from $285-295 per mt a week earlier to $290-298 per mt CFR Nhava Sheva on Friday.