Pakistan buyers await further correction in imported scrap offers

After witnessing active transactions last week, the Pakistani imported scrap market slowed down towards the beginning of Aug’21. With the recent drop in Turkish imported scrap deals, market participants are likely to opt for a wait-and-watch stance to see whether prices coming down, SteelMint learnt.

“Most of the steelmakers have already restocked sufficiently before the monsoon and Eid holidays last month. However, there are many steel mills which are booking  as per their requirements,” said a Pakistan source.

SteelMint’s assessment for UK/EU-origin shredded stands at $540/tonne (t) CFR Qasim, registering a sharp drop of $5/t w-o-w.

Recent deals and offers

• Few tonnages of UK/EU-origin shredded have been booked at $535-540/t CFR levels.
• However, due to tight availability from premium scrap yards, offers were assessed at $545/t CFR Qasim, unchanged w-o-w.
• Around 3,000-4,000 t of Dubai-origin HMS 1 has been booked at $510-515/t CFR Qasim. Fresh offers for the UAE-origin HMS 1 &2 (80:20) are being quoted at $515-520/t CFR.

The Pakistan market was mostly quiet this week. Market participants expected prices to come down by the end of the week by around $10/t due to lower bids.

Rupee hits nine-month low against dollar: The Pakistani rupee devalued further this week against the  dollar as it crossed the 164 –mark, touching an all-time low of 168.43 against the greenback last year in Aug’21.

Domestic steel prices continue to move north: Domestic steel prices continued to move northward, as domestic construction activities remained supported. SteelMint’s assessment for G-60 rebar was slightly up by PKR 1,800/t to PKR 161,000-162,000/t exw-Punjab. Workable rebar offers were heard lower than the quoted offers.

Local scrap (equivalent to shredded) prices have risen further by PKR 6,000/t w-o-w to PKR 108,000/t exy-Punjab.

Pakistan’s domestic steel prices

Outlook

Pakistan-based mills are likely to resume bookings towards the end of the week after getting some clarity on offers as inquiries seem to be increasing.