Pakistani mills scaled back imported ferrous scrap booking ahead of Eid holidays. The government has announced national holidays from May 10-15 while market participants expect trading to remain suspended from Sunday, May 9 to Monday, May 17.
The country is also observing stringent restrictions on the movement of people and goods due to COVID resurgence, but steel production remains unimpacted.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Tuesday, settled at $475.23/mt cfr Port Qasim, up by $3.98/mt from Monday. Offers from the UK/EU origin rose to around $480/mt cfr Qasim on Tuesday. Some thin volume trades heard at around $475/mt cfr Qasim. But most buyers resisted $473-475/mt cfr Qasim.
In Turkey, offers for imported bulk scrap remained high in line with rising domestic rebar prices. The ongoing lockdown in Turkey has had little impact on manufacturing activities. The daily index for bulk US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose to $452/mt cfr Turkey, up $3/mt on Tuesday. Demand is likely to pick up in the coming days.
The daily index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Tuesday, gained $3.25/mt to $452/mt cfr Port Qasim. Trades reported in the range of $450-455/mt cfr Qasim. Most US suppliers are preparing for bullish domestic demand in May and are likely to prefer domestic trades over seaborne trades amid logistics challenges.
Purchases for #1 HMS, P&S, and rerolling scrap from the UAE slowed in Pakistan ahead of Eid while most traders diverted their focus to Indian markets. The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $453/mt cfr Port Qasim, up by $2/mt. Trades reported at $465/mt cfr Qasim for UAE-origin mixed #1 HMS and P&S amid limited inventories at mills. UAE-based traders are hopeful of more deals in the coming days supported by a pick-up in steel demand post-Eid.
In the domestic market, Bala billet offered at PKR111,000-111,500/mt ex-works Lahore on Tuesday, maintaining the uptrend of the past two weeks. Offers for G-60 billet at PKR115,500-116,000/mt ex-works Punjab against buying interest at PKR114,000-114,500/mt ex-works Punjab.
Long steel producers in Punjab and Karachi are optimistic about steel demand post-Eid. For rebar, offers at PKR135,500-136,000/mt ex-works Karachi and PKR132,000/mt ex-works Punjab. Local rebar sold at PKR121,000/mt ex-works Punjab. With improvement in demand, most steelmakers are likely to attempt another round of price hike in the coming days.
High imported scrap offers continued to keep domestic scrap prices high with Art Q toke scrap equivalent to a mix of HMS and P&S trading at PKR90,000-90,200/mt ex-yard Lahore. Pure Q toke scrap (equivalent to shredded) unchanged at PKR91,000-91,300/mt ex-yard Lahore. Domestic scrap supply tight amid slow activities in the demolition market.
($1=PKR152.89)