Pakistani buyers stayed away from ferrous scrap imports as steel demand weakened amid Ramadan lull. Trading was tepid because of the Ridvan holiday, which marks the start of a twelve-day festival.
Limited operating hours, lowered workforce availability, strict social distancing restrictions on rising COVID-19 cases also impacted bookings.
Sellers were unwilling to lower offers citing increased container freight charges and tight availability of scrap for May-June shipments. Bearish sentiment in Bangladesh and India, where COVID-19 tallies are reaching new highs every day, has also made Pakistani buyers reduce bids.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Monday, settled at $461.25/mt cfr Port Qasim, down $1.96/mt from Friday. The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Monday, settled at $461.25/mt cfr Port Qasim, down $1.96/mt from Friday. Two containerized scrap deals of 500mt shredded each were heard at $460/mt and $462/mt cfr port Qasim. In Turkey, mills lowered bids by $10/mt to $420-422/mt cfr Turkey for HMS 1&2 (80:20) as Ramadan has slowed economic activity. The depreciation of the lira against the US dollar also pressured prices. Mills in South Asia are thus expecting a decline in asking prices.
The daily index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Monday, dropped by $1.25/mt to $438.75/mt cfr Port Qasim from Friday. Offers were at $440-445/mt cfr Qasim, with most mills silent.
UAE-based sellers have decided to stay away from offering material at present bid levels despite slow demand. The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $446/mt cfr Port Qasim, down to $2/mt. Offers for mixed #1 HMS and P&S from UAE were unchanged at $460-465/mt cfr Port Qasim, depending on quality.
High scrap price lift billet
On Monday, Bala billet traded at PKR109,000-109,500/mt ex-works Lahore, up by PKR500/mt from Friday. Offers for G-60 billet were unchanged at PKR113,500-114,000/mt ex-works Punjab.
Long steel producers in Punjab and Karachi kept offers firm, while many small-scale steelmakers have announced annual maintenance amid weak domestic demand.
Local rebar offers remained rangebound at PKR120,000-121,000/mt ex-works Punjab while CC grade traded at PKR131,000/mt ex-works.
Domestic scrap firm amid short supply
Art Q toke scrap equivalent to a mix of HMS and P&S Monday was offered at PKR88,500-89,000/mt ex-yard Lahore, up PKR500/mt from Friday. Pure Q toke scrap equivalent to shredded traded at PKR90,300-90,500/mt ex-yard Lahore. In Gadani, demolition work slowed with the start of Ramadan as most workers have returned to their hometowns.
($1=PKR153.11)