Imported scrap offers moved up further by $10-15 for yet another week. Local and imported scrap prices in Pakistan have rallied on global trends, falling inventories with mills and restocking ahead Ramadan holidays, SteelMint learnt from trade channels.
Around 25,000 t of shredded has been booked in containers at $450-460/t CFR Qasim basis. “Small mills are also inquiring as they are running short of inventories, whereas yards are holding back fresh offers. Fresh offers are likely to increase and are presently being quoted around $465/t CFR levels. Market is strong before Ramadan restocking activities” shared a prominent Pakistan based scrap trader.
SteelMint’s assessment for UK/EU origin containerised shredded stands at $460/t CFR Qasim levels, registering a sharp hike of over $12 w-o-w.
Recent trades and offers:
- In a recent trade around 2,000t of shredded has been booked at around $465/t CFR basis
- Fresh offers for shredded are now being quoted at $465/t CFR Qasim levels, up by $10-15 w-o-w
“Only a week’s time is left for the Ramadan, and market trades usually remain slow during Ramadan as demand remains slow. Few market participants will wait at these prices for the time being and slow finished steel demand will hold the offers at this level” highlighted market sources.
Domestic rebar offers moved up w-o-w: Domestic steel prices have moved up this week, as there is a minor fluctuation in local scrap and billet rates. Mills are waiting for the situation to clear up for getting more clarity on market. According to SteelMint, prices for G-60 rebar in Punjab region stand at PKR 131,000 /t exw Punjab, up by PKR 1500/t w-o-w, while offers are quoted at PKR 130,000-133,000/t exw Punjab levels.
Government of Pakistan has now stopped the new regulations which was amended towards the end of Feb’21. “FATA/PATA mills and mis-declarations have been stopped now due to outstanding payments which have had a positive impact on true market prices and have affected the markets positively” shared a market participant.
However, local scrap is still cost-effective compared to imported scrap. Due to the tight availability of scrap in the domestic market, prices have increased marginally to PKR 89,600/t exy Punjab.
Outlook: Market sources expect imported scrap trades to remain strong this week ahead of the approaching Ramadan holidays and slight pick-up in steel prices.
Leave a Reply