Pakistan: Imported scrap trading resume after Eid, prices firm

Pakistan’s imported scrap market has gradually resumed after the one-week long Eid holidays. Buyers and steelmakers were eagerly looking for a market trend. Imported scrap offers continued their marginal upward movement post-Eid. Deals of Dubai-origin scrap were heard yesterday but not many have been reported on shredded scrap so far this week.

“Deals of around for 2,000 tonnes (t) of UAE-origin PNS and HMS scrap were confirmed by SteelMint at around $510-512/t, CFR Port Qasim,” said a reliable source.

SteelMint’s assessment for UK/EU-origin shredded stands at $550/t CFR Qasim, up by $5/t w-o-w.

• Offers for shredded scrap in containers have remained largely unchanged at $550/t CFR, rising slightly by $5-10/t w-o-w.
• During the Eid holidays, deals for around 10,000-15,000 t of UK-origin shredded were concluded at $545-550/t CFR Port Qasim.
• Fresh offers for Dubai-origin HMS1 and PNS are at $510-515/t CFR levels.

The market is still quiet after the Eid holidays , as laboures are yet to return . Moreover, it is the rainy season and no construction activities are happening at present, said another market source.

Domestic rebar prices firm: Domestic rebar prices stayed firm despite this being the bill payment week (last week of the month). In this week, rebar prices generally reduce so that the maximum inventory can be sold to facilitate monthly payments. Most of the major mills kept their rebar offers stable as steel consumption remained slow after the Eid break. SteelMint’s assessment for G-60 rebar remained unchanged at PKR 158,000-160,000/t exy-Punjab.

Due to limited scrap availability, it is expected that domestic scrap prices may go up further. Local scrap (equivalent to shredded) prices have risen further by PKR 3,000-4,000/t w-o-w to PKR 105,000-106,000/t exy-Punjab.

Pakistan’s domestic steel prices

Outlook
Pakistan’s steel market sentiments are likely to remain positive. However, mills are yet to actively resume imported scrap bookings, as they are expecting a price correction in Turkey and in global scrap prices.