Different factors affected each location, pulling prices down by the day across the board, GMS said in its weekly recycling review.
The markets needed a week or two of stability, in order to bring some confidence back to the buying again.
Nervous end users were increasingly adopting a ‘wait-and-watch’ attitude rather than offering/committing on the multitude of high priced cash buyer vessels that were circulating on the markets.
GMS said that it anticipated some large losses being incurred by those involved.
Bangladesh was faced with a chronic financing problem, due to an extreme shortage of US dollars in the country, resulting in very few open end buyers who have the ability to open fresh LCs, particularly on some of the favoured large LDT units offered up.
Unfortunately, the competing Indian and Pakistani markets were unable to pick up the slack, as sentiments and pricing remained comparatively sluggish in both countries.
Pakistan has endured a multitude of issues – from a suspension of high rise building projects, leading to reduced demand for steel, to recent currency depreciations, to ongoing political turmoil and finally, cheap Chinese and Iranian billets flooding into the country.
India on the other hand continued to face its weekly share of volatility on local steel plate prices, although the currency had improved lately, finishing last week in the mid Rs70s against the US dollar.
While China remained inactive, the Turkish market faced an unexpected crash in local steel plate prices last week. The previous high priced indications were no longer valid and levels were expected to fall in the coming week, GMS concluded.
Brokers reported that the 1991-built Aframax ‘Mercury’ had been committed to Indian breakers. Another Aframax, the 1999-built ‘Bunga Kelana 4’, was reported sold to Bangladesh.
Nordic American Tankers (NAT) has confirmed the sale of the 1999-built Suezmaxes ‘Nordic Aurora’ and ‘Nordic Sprite’ just a month before their special surveys fall due.
NAT said the price was around $10 mill per ship net, while brokers said this equated to $442.5 per ldt per ship for an en bloc deal on the basis of ‘as is’ Khor Fakkan with 800 tonnes and 1,500 tonnes of fuel ROB, respectively.