Importers from Pakistani continued to restock ferrous scrap as per their needs though many buyers are in wait-and-watch mode as offers have gone surprisingly high. Uncertainty due to second and third waves of COVID-19 in most suppliers’ countries pushing them into national lockdowns has made everyone cautious about the outlook.
With suppliers refusing to budge, a few importers accepted higher offers even as indications of container shortage is keeping near-term price direction on an uptrend. Finished steel demand, especially for rebar, remains a concern.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Wednesday, inched up by $0.39/mt to $356.43/mt cfr Port Qasim. Several trades for containerized EU and UK-origin shredded were reported at prices between $354-357/mt cfr Port Qasim. Most US suppliers refused to place fresh offers on the non-availability of stocks and depleted collection rates nearing the winter season.
Most offers from the EU and UK were at $355-360/mt cfr Port Qasim, the highest since December 2018.
Turkey, where mills are being offered $325/mt cfr Turkey for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), may witness an uptrend on rebar orders in hand. If this trend continues, prices might gain another $20-30/mt in December and January, said a trader.
The Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $339/mt cfr Port Qasim, up by $3/mt from Tuesday. Mills preferred shredded over HMS scrap to avoid paying extra taxes imposed on the imports of the latter. Offers for containerized Dubai-origin mixed #1 HMS and P&S sarya scrap were at $345/mt cfr Port Qasim on Wednesday. Dubai-based suppliers preferred Indian buyers where domestic demand and prices are comparatively high.
The index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) Wednesday settled at $338.21/mt cfr Port Qasim, up by $2.79/mt from Tuesday. Most European supplier countries are under lockdown due to the second and third waves of COVID-19. Offers for the grade from the US and UK in containers were above $340/mt cfr Port Qasim.
Rebar prices fail to rise
Domestic scrap rose on high imported tags, however, sales of rebar are very slow. Mills have been unable to raise steel prices as demand is under pressure. Bala billet prices were at PKR91,600-91,800/mt ($579-581/mt) ex-works Punjab. Offers for rebar from leading Karachi producers were unchanged from the prior week at PKR109,500-110,000/mt ex-works. In Punjab, mills kept their G-60 rebar offers above PKR109,000-109,500/mt ex-works.
After rising sharply, domestic Pure Q toke scrap equivalent to shredded, was offered stable at PKR71,000-71,500/mt del Lahore mill on Wednesday.
($1=PKR158.1)