Pakistan’s imported scrap prices continue to decline due to the subdued finished steel market scenario amid the ongoing Ramadan month.
A few sporadic contracts have been concluded in Turkiye at lower prices, but South Asian scrap buyers have opted to wait and watch for a clearer price direction.
SteelMint’s assessment for imported shredded scrap in containers stands at $470-475/t CFR, down $10-15/t w-o-w.
In contrast, sales of finished steel are yet to improve with downstream market sentiments remaining unsupportive. Steel producers feel rebar prices might contract for a short period.
“Sales have been depressed in Pakistan, and consumers are in a wait-and-watch mode,” said a reliable trader based in Pakistan.
Steelmakers are struggling to maintain the conversion spread between raw material and finished steel, due to increased electricity tariffs, production costs and dull responses from end-users.
Fresh workable offers for deformed grade 60 rebar (10-12 mm) were heard at PKR 250,000-255,000/t exw ($883-900/t), including taxes, moving down significanlty by PKR 25,000-30,000/t ($88-106/t) w-o-w. However, official offers from steel mills remain high.
“Prices may decline further due to liquidity issues; the market is almost dead,” said a market participant.
Prices for other domestic materials such as billets and local scrap have also been slashed in the same range as rebars.
Further, the national currency, Pakistani rupee’s declining value keeps increasing steel production costs after it sank to an all-time low. However, trade channels shared that the administration is hoping to get monetary help from Gulf nations which may stabilise the currency fluctuations.
The currency is now being traded at PKR 283.5 against the dollar, slightly appreciating from the 283.7 recorded a week ago.
Leave a Reply