[India's Steel Exchange India hits record monthly rebar output; September at 25,095 tonnes]

South Africa is moving to ban cash sales of scrap metal under amendments to the Second-Hand Goods Act, aiming to curb illicit trade and infrastructure vandalism that costs about 45 billion rand (2.5 billion USD) a year. Dealers must retain sellers' data and switch to electronic payments, logging each acquisition or disposal; recyclers must record waste pickers' names and ID numbers. Foreign nationals without verified permanent residency lose trading licences, and gold and chrome are also covered. Stolen cable on Transnet rail lines rose from 120km to 724km a year between 2017 and 2021, with incidents up from under 2,000 to nearly 4,500. Copper theft costs Eskom 5-7 billion rand (280-390 million USD) yearly, plus 2 billion rand (110 million USD) to replace cable. The cabinet approved the bill for public comment in August, with a November 2 deadline.

The National Association of Scrap and Waste Dealers Employers of Nigeria (NASWDEN) began a 15-day warning strike on October 1, halting scrap supplies to iron-smelting firms over unilateral price cuts, disputed weighing and 1-5% deductions, which dealers say cost 3-4 million naira (about 2,000-2,700 USD) per truckload, versus an earlier estimate of 3-6 million naira. Muda Yusuf of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise said costlier steel threatens construction, manufacturing and housing costs and could let substandard rebar spread. Nigeria needs about 10 million tonnes of steel a year but produces roughly 1.2 million tonnes, mostly from recycled scrap. Some 2.7 billion USD in private capital was lined up in September for projects including Ajaokuta, Delta Steel and new rolling mills.

Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) posted record first-half steel output of 8.39 million tonnes for April-September of the current fiscal year, with September sales up 4% year on year, underscoring resilient demand from construction and infrastructure. As India's largest state-owned steelmaker, operating integrated plants at Bhilai, Bokaro, Rourkela, Durgapur and Burnpur, SAIL's volumes are a key gauge of domestic consumption and public capital spending. The record H1 output and September sales growth point to steadier blast furnace operations and firmer order books, supporting India's full-year crude steel growth. Attention now turns to post-monsoon construction, rail and port demand for longs, and pressure from cheaper imports. Source: SAIL.