Pakistani ferrous scrap importers raise bids for containerized scrap as demand showed signs of improvement amid limited inventories with mills. Ferrous scrap trades gained momentum as participants believe trades could rise even further as finished steel consumption is expected to pick up before monsoon reach its peak and slows construction activities.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Friday, settled unchanged at $515/mt cfr Port Qasim from Thursday and up by $6.25/mt from the prior Friday. Offers strengthened as trades resumed amid depleting inventories. For the UK origin containerised shredded 1,000mt volume traded at $510/mt cfr Qasim early in the week and later at $515/mt cfr Qasim on Friday. Expectations for shredded in containers from sellers, Friday, rose to $515-520/mt cfr Qasim.
In Turkey, a pause in bulk scrap purchases held prices largely unchanged over the week. With rebar under pressure on limited demand, scrap prices in Turkey could slide in the coming days. Turkish mills have also lowered their rebar offers to Asia turning up the heat for competitors. Turkish buyers targeted $495-500/mt cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) on lower domestic steel prices. The daily Davis Index for imports of US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) declined $4.17/mt to $502.5/mt cfr Turkey on Thursday. Turkish mills lowered rebar offers to as low as $700/mt ex-works.
The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Friday, settled stable at $478/mt cfr Port Qasim but the index slipped $4/mt from last Friday. Offers for UAE-origin mixed #1 HMS and P&S reported at $490/mt cfr Qasim driven by Indian buying appetite at higher prices.
The daily index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Friday, settled at $490/mt cfr Port Qasim, down $2.5/mt. The index increased by $3.75/mt from the prior Friday. US yards were offering limited quantities in Asia as domestic demand remained strong while June domestic monthly settlements for ferrous scrap increased by $50-60/gt from May prices.
The Davis Index for P&S 5ft and #1 busheling on Friday settled at $530/mt and $550/mt cfr Port Qasim, respectively, up $6/mt and stable from the prior Friday. Offers for high-grade scrap remained firm amid tight supply.
Steel prices down as trades lag
In the domestic market, steel trades remained slow as higher offers discouraged buying sentiments. The index for domestic Bala billet dropped by PKR1,500/mt to PKR114,500/mt ($737/mt) ex-works. The weekly Davis Index for G-60 billet rose to PKR122,000/mt ex-works Punjab, down PKR1,500/mt from prior Friday.
Local rebar offered at PKR130,000-131,000/mt ex-works, with prices moving down by PKR1,000/mt from the prior week. The weekly Davis Indexes for rebar rose to PKR142,500/mt, down PKR500/mt ex-works Karachi and PKR141,000/mt ex-works Punjab, down PKR500/mt.
Domestic ferrous scrap supply remained tight. The weekly indexes for Art Q toke scrap (equivalent to a mix of HMS and P&S) and Pure Q toke scrap (equivalent to shredded), Friday, settled at PKR93,000/mt and PKR94,000/mt ex-yard Lahore, down PKR2,000/mt, respectively.
The Pakistani rupee, Friday, depreciated to near PKR155.22 against the US dollar from PKR153.5 on May 30.
($1=PKR155.22)