Pakistani ferrous scrap importers are mostly away as steel demand weakens with the start of Ramadan. A few deals reported at slightly lowered prices, but most offers remain high. Few suppliers are active in the Pakistani market as yards opted to sell in their domestic market amid strong demand.
Compared to its subcontinental peers, Pakistanis are under fewer COVID-19-related restriction, but if cases continue to increase there could be a stricter lockdown in the coming days.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Thursday, settled at $458.13/mt cfr Port Qasim, down $1.87/mt from Wednesday. Firm offers for EU/UK shredded in containers pushed back buyers who are resisting higher prices amid Ramadan lull and COVID resurgence. Mills are likely to accept $455-460/mt cfr Qasim as they would need to restock post-Eid.
Buyers were reluctant to book materials amid slow finished steel demand. Offers are expected to stay high amid high container freights and tight availability. There is a very limited downside possible for scrap. But with limited working hours during Ramadan overall steel demand and consumption are likely to stay slow until the first week of May.
The daily index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Thursday, settled at $436.25/mt cfr Port Qasim, up to $1.25/mt. Offers were at $440-445/mt cfr Qasim while mills opted for short transit period HMS deals over the UK/EU and the US.
Offers for the UAE origin material have gone up following tight supply. With the start of Ramadan and lowered operating and transportation hours, most sellers decided to push offers further despite slow demand.
Indian mills on the other hand were active for the Dubai origin material, limiting trades for the same grade heard in Pakistan. The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $444/mt cfr Port Qasim, up to $4/mt. Offers for mixed #1 HMS and P&S from UAE rose to $455-460/mt cfr Port Qasim, depending on quality.
Domestic trades slow
Offers for Art Q toke scrap equivalent to a mix of HMS and P&S, Thursday, reported stable at PKR87,000-87,500/mt ex-yard Lahore. Trades for Pure Q toke scrap equivalent to shredded at PKR88,500-89,000/mt ex-yard Lahore.
Trades for Bala billet and G-60 billet resumed as local logistic disruptions were resolved. Offers for Bala billet at PKR108,000-108,500/mt ex-works Lahore. Offers for G-60 billet was stable at PKR112,500-113,000/mt ex-works Punjab.
Long steelmakers in Punjab and Karachi kept offers firm while many small-scale steelmakers went for annual maintenance lowering demand. Rebar offers remained at PKR135,000/mt ex-works Karachi, while in Punjab, rebar traded at PKR131,000/mt ex-works Punjab.
($1=PKR153.21)