Cash buyer GMS cites the dangerous situations unfolding across the Middle East, Ukraine and South China Sea, when saying that politics, war, and ensuing global financial instability, means that ship recycling markets continue to endure profound challenges as the industry heads towards Q4 2024.
“On the financial side, we witnessed a seesawing of fundamentals as on the one hand, likely on the back of news that the U.S. Feds are revising another reduction in interest rates, the U.S. Dollar seemed to have declined a hair or stayed even across the board, and offer Indian sub-continent and Turkish currencies a much-needed opportunity to stabilize this week.
“On the other hand, local steel plate prices in both India and Pakistan suffered tragic declines, all at a time their +USD 500/LDT levels were the only things keeping shipowners / cash buyers interested in these recycling destinations.”
Even in the West, Turkish steel registered falls through late August at a time where local levels were their only safety net and are now collapsing under the feet of local recyclers, says GMS. These declining steel levels have also shown few signs of easing in India and Pakistan where Gadani recyclers refuse to be a competitive resale option for no reason other…