Pakistani ferrous scrap importers continued to stay silent on Friday as Turkish bulk prices declined $10/mt in a week. After some deals earlier this month, many Pakistani mills refused to book material on weak steel demand with the arrival of monsoon rains. Still, sellers kept offers firm amid limited tonnage available for containerized trade and elevated freight levels. The Pakistani currency remained depreciated above PKR157 against $1 from PKR156 a week ago.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Friday, was down by $2.14/mt to $534.29/mt cfr Port Qasim, but up by $6.25/mt from the prior Friday. After a few containerized trades for UK/EU shredded in the range $535-540/mt cfr Qasim, mills turned silent on Friday following the drop in the Turkish bulk index. Amid softening global cues and weak domestic steel sales, mills hope for the price drop to extend.
In Turkey, the daily Davis Index for imports of US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) on Thursday was unchanged at $500/mt cfr but declined by $10.58/mt from a week prior. Steelmakers, including ICDAS, offered rebar at $730/mt fob, down $10-20/mt from the prior week.
Sellers from UAE kept offers for HMS scrap unchanged following firm cues from the US and the European markets where supply is still tight. But a decline in buying interest in India kept prices from rising. The Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Friday, settled at $500/mt cfr Port Qasim, down $3/mt. Deals for UAE-origin mixed #1 HMS and P&S were reported at $510/mt cfr Port Qasim.
The daily index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Friday, settled at $506.25/t cfr Port Qasim, unchanged from Thursday. The index increased by $4.75/mt from the prior Friday on supply crunch and jump in offers from the US East Coast sellers.
The daily Davis Indexes for P&S 5ft and #1 busheling declined by $2/mt, but rose by $6/mt to $549/mt and $569/mt cfr Port Qasim, respectively, from the prior Friday. Offers for high-grade scrap remained firm amid tight supply.
Domestic billet drops on tepid sales
In the domestic market, steel trades remained slow as market participants are still waiting for clarity on the impact of budget FY2021-22 announced on June 11. The index for domestic Bala billet dropped by PKR1,000/mt to PKR116,250/mt ($739/mt) ex-works. The weekly Davis Index for G-60 billet was at PKR123,250/mt ex-works Punjab, down PKR1,250/mt from the prior Friday.
Local rebar offers were unchanged at PKR131,000/mt ex-works Lahore from the prior week. After a price rise last week, buyers showed limited interest in rebar purchases as monsoons slowed construction activities. The weekly Davis Indexes for rebar settled flat at PKR145,500/mt ex-works Karachi and PKR144,000/mt ex-works Punjab.
A few yards were looking to sell off material before the financial year closes on June 30. The weekly indexes for Art Q toke scrap (equivalent to a mix of HMS and P&S) and Pure Q toke scrap (equivalent to shredded), Friday, settled at PKR94,000/mt and PKR95,150/mt ex-yard Lahore, down by PKR250/mt and PKR350/mt, respectively.
($1=PKR157.32)