Pakistani mills continued to book imported ferrous scrap in limited quantities. The supply of material remains tight and sellers were unwilling to lower asking prices. Amid elevated input costs, rebar makers hiked prices by PKR5,000/mt ($32/mt) on Thursday. Amreli Steel, Agha, Faizan, Abbas, and Naveena Steel have revised asking rates to PKR150,500/mt ex-works Karachi and PKR149,500/mt ex-works Punjab.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Thursday, remained unchanged at $529/mt cfr Port Qasim. Offers were at $530-535/mt, while bids at $523-528/mt cfr Qasim. The disparity kept trading slow. Bookings could pick up soon, as availability is tight and the demand has started improving again.
In Turkey, mills were largely away from bulk scrap purchases, with a gap between offers and buying interest. Steelmakers have already booked material for most of their July requirements. The daily Davis Index for imports of US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $495/mt cfr Turkey, down by $2.5/mt on Wednesday. From its peak in early June, prices dropped over $15/mt.
A decline in bids by Indian mills and weak steel prices pressured UAE suppliers to reduce offers. The Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $481/mt cfr Port Qasim, down $1/mt. Deals for UAE-origin mixed #1 HMS and P&S were at $490-495/mt cfr Port Qasim, while bids were lower by $5/mt than these levels on Thursday.
The daily index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $498.75/mt cfr Port Qasim, down by $2.5/mt. Sellers kept offers elevated, citing firm collection costs. But bids dropped following price trends for scrap in other supplier countries.
Iron ore prices with 62pc ferrous content inched down to $216.3/mt cfr north China on Thursday. In the Chinese steel market, strengthening futures and tight supply for raw materials could keep finished steel prices ‘flat to up’ despite piling stocks.
In the Pakistan domestic market, steel prices stabilized after an initial drop. Trading too resumed as prices dropped to match buyers’ interests. Trades for Bala billet were at PKR116,300-116,500/mt ex-works Punjab while local rebar rose by PKR500/mt to PKR131,500-132,000/mt ex-works.
Ahead of the month and year close, mills could turn their focus on clearing utility bills. For Art Q toke scrap (equivalent to a mix of HMS and P&S) and Pure Q toke scrap (equivalent to shredded), on Thursday, offers were firm at PKR94,000-94,500/mt and PKR95,200-95,500/mt ex-yard Lahore, respectively.
($1=PKR157.8)