This week, trade activity in the import scrap segment in Pakistan has remained moderate with most prices moving sideways in new deals even though some offers have showed a slight upward bias. Meanwhile, demand from end-users has remained sluggish due to the monsoon and currency challenges.
Specifically, ex-EU/UK shredded offers in containers have settled at $400-405/mt CFR levels, against $397-405-mt CFR last week. According to sources, prices became bullish in the middle of last week but as witnessed earlier the deals were concluded by participants at lower levels despite higher offers. “During the past week, around 5,000 mt in total of shredded scrap from the UK and Dubai have been booked at $395-415m/mt CFR” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
Meanwhile, offers for shredded scrap from Dubai have been voiced at $410-412/mt CFR and have been considered as competitive with European cargoes. Besides, offers for ex-UAE HMS grade prices have been stable at $380/mt CFR, and sellers think that prices have already touched the bottom and that availability is getting scarce now.
At the same time, domestic rebar prices are still under pressure though the utility bills period is over and fresh liquidity should come into the market this week. Offers for local 10-12 mm rebar of grade 60 have been heard at PKR 245,000/mt ($878/mt) ex-works and slightly lower, against PKR 245,000-250,000/mt ($878-896/mt) ex-works last week. Local prices for scrap equivalent to shredded have settled at PKR 145,000/mt ($520/mt) ex-warehouse, down by PKR 3,000/mt ($11/mt) on the higher end of the range week on week. “A strong spell of rain is expected throughout Pakistan this week, and from next week we could have some clear market sentiments,” a market insider said.
All prices on Pakistani rupee basis include 18 percent VAT.
$1 = PKR 278.92