Pakistani importers slowed purchases of ferrous scrap after active trading ahead of the Eid festival. Turkish bulk prices inched down in recent trades.
Domestic scrap and billet prices have continued to drop and have lost PKR3,000-3,500/mt from a week ago. Economic activities and bank operations are expected to slow down during the festival.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Thursday, was at $545/mt cfr Port Qasim, down $2.5/mt. Deals for shredded were at $544-548/mt cfr Qasim. But most mills shied away from present offers amid hopes of prices softening following the trend in Turkey.
In Turkey, the market was closed on July 15 on account of the national democracy and unity holiday. Mills are hoping to book remaining August shipments at lower prices amid an increasing number of offers in the bulk market. The daily bulk index was unchanged at $484.89/mt cfr Turkey for the US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) on Wednesday.
Sellers in the UAE could stay away from the market for a week, with four days of official holidays from July 19-22. The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Thursday, settled at $503/mt cfr port Qasim, down by $2/mt. UAE-origin mixed #1 HMS and P&S offers inched down to $510-515/mt cfr Port Qasim amid softening bids on Thursday.
The daily index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Thursday, settled at $508.75/mt cfr Port Qasim, down $0.5/mt. US sellers kept offers firm following a rise in the domestic HRC prices to above $1,850/nt.
In the Pakistan domestic market, rebar prices were unchanged, with deals at PKR155,550-156,000/mt ex-works Karachi and PKR154,500-155,000/mt ex-works Punjab. A few sellers offered discounts on the base asking rates to generate more sales. Heavy rains in Karachi impacted transportation, production, and domestic sales.
Domestic Bala billet prices were largely flat at PKR126,000/mt ($789.28/mt) ex-works. Mills could lower offers to generate some liquidity before the market closes for the holidays as utility bills are due in the last week of the month. Overall, the ongoing monsoons have kept trading slow.
Steelmakers like Aisha Steel and International Steel have announced a price hike for flat steel, including HRC by PKR5,850/mt ($36.8/mt) ex-works.
Domestic scrap prices were unchanged amid a tight supply. But buyers resisted these levels. Trades for Art Q toke scrap (equivalent to a mix of HMS and P&S) and Pure Q toke scrap (equivalent to shredded), Thursday, were reported at around PKR98,800-99,100/mt and PKR101,000-101,300/mt ex-yard Lahore, respectively.
($1=PKR159.33)