Ferrous scrap importers in Pakistan extended their silence as they await clarity in the price direction. Although global prices have softened, market participants believe Chinese steel prices are unlikely to fall further. Turkish mills could resume remaining bulk purchases keeping sentiment positive.
Domestic steel sales were slow. Pakistani currency gained and was at PKR163.55 against $1 on Wednesday from PKR164.3 late last week.
Imported shredded scrap prices were largely flat amid very few deals. The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Wednesday, was at $527.5/mt cfr Port Qasim, down $0.71/mt. A few small quantity deals for shredded were at prices below $525/mt cfr Qasim. Large scale yards kept offers at $525-530/mt cfr Qasim amid low vessel space for deliveries.
Offers for ferrous scrap from UAE were firm as demand started recovering in all three subcontinental markets. The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) climbed up by $/mt to $496/mt cfr port Qasim. Trades for UAE-origin mixed #1 HMS and P&S continued at $510-515/mt cfr Port Qasim. The spread between ferrous scrap and finished steel widened in Pakistan. The daily index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Wednesday, settled at $488.5/mt cfr Port Qasim, down $1.5/mt.
Large-scale mills in Pakistan hiked rebars prices last week amid healthy sales. Offers for rebar G-60 jumped were at PKR167,500-168,500/mt ex-works Karachi and Punjab. Local rebar offers were above PKR155,000-156,000/mt ex-works Lahore.
Domestic Bala billet prices declined by PKR2,000/mt to PKR138,000-138,500/mt ($844-847/mt) ex-works. As the month of Muharram has started, a few construction projects could slow down for a couple of weeks. Following supply surplus, prices lost steam.
In the domestic scrap market, Art Q toke scrap (equivalent to a mix of HMS and P&S) traded at PKR106,000-106,500/mt ex-yard Lahore and Pure Q toke scrap (equivalent to shredded) at PKR108,000-108,500/mt ex-yard Lahore, down PKR500-1,000/mt.
($1=PKR163.55)