A slight recovery in domestic steel demand strengthened market sentiment in Pakistan on Tuesday. Ferrous importers remain optimistic about active scrap trading in the coming days. Offers for containerised ferrous scrap remained firm supported by higher monthly domestic scrap settlements in the US market that rose by $45-60/gt for June shipments against the prior month.
In Pakistan, steel demand showed signs of improvement ahead of the budget announcement on June 11. On Tuesday, domestic Bala billet prices rose PKR1,000/mt to PKR116,500/mt ($749/mt) ex-works Lahore. Mills, however, showed very limited interest in large tonnage bookings and stuck to immediate melt requirements. Softer cues from China as well as Turkey, where rebar prices declined also weighed on buyers sentiments.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Tuesday, settled unchanged at $515/mt cfr Port Qasim from Monday. Sellers’ expectations were in the range of $515-520/mt cfr Qasim but very thin volumes traded at $515-518/mt cfr Qasim from the UK and EU origins.
In Turkey, one of the leading rebar producers sold rebar at $685/mt ex-works on Tuesday, which is lower than prior deals. This pulled down bids as prices are expected to show a marginal downward trend in the coming days. The daily Davis Index for imports of US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Monday, softened by $2.5/mt to $500/mt cfr Turkey.
Active demand for re-rolling materials lifted HMS prices in Pakistan. The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Tuesday, increased by $3/mt to $483/mt cfr Port Qasim from Monday. Trades for UAE-origin mixed #1 HMS and P&S roe $5/mt to $495-500/mt cfr Qasim. Rerolling scrap offered at $540/mt cfr Qasim while P&S scrap from the UAE traded at $515/mt cfr Qasim in containers.
The daily index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Tuesday, settled unchanged at $490/mt cfr Port Qasim. Seaborne trades were halted amid very limited offers with most sellers focusing on domestic demand.
On Tuesday, domestic Bala billet prices rose by PKR1,000/mt to PKR116,500/mt ($749/mt) ex-works Lahore. Local rebar prices remained low at PK129,000-129,500/mt ex-works.
Major steelmaker, Amreli Steel hiked rebar prices by PKR3,000/mt on June 8. Offers rose to PKR146,500/mt and PKR145,500/mt for Deform and Xtreme rebars, respectively.
Domestic ferrous scrap traded firm in Pakistan. Prices for Art Q toke scrap (equivalent to a mix of HMS and P&S) and Pure Q toke scrap (equivalent to shredded), dropped by PKR500-700/mt to PKR92,300-92,500/mt and PKR93,000-93,500/mt ex-yard Lahore, respectively.
($1=PKR155.54)