Pakistani importers slowed purchase of ferrous scrap after active trading ahead of the Eid-al-Adha next week. The drop in Turkish bulk price is reflected in the Pakistani containers market, albeit not to the same extent. In recent deals, prices have declined marginally, but supply remains tight.
Domestic scrap and billet prices have continued to drop and are down by PKR3,000-3,500/mt from a week ago. Participants expect that Pakistani market could stay very slow over the next week as economic activities take a backseat. Banks are also likely to be closed for most of next week.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Friday, fell $2/mt to settle at $543/mt cfr Port Qasim amid deals at lower prices. The index fell by $2/mt from last Friday. Mid-week, prices started to slide from the peak of $550/mt cfr Qasim. Deals for shredded heard at $540-545/mt cfr Qasim in the last two days after mills lowered bids on global cues.
In Turkey, mills held back purchases ahead of Eid. Most are likely to resume the remaining August shipments actively after the holidays. The daily bulk index for the US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) unchanged at $484.89/mt cfr Turkey on Thursday.
Sellers in the UAE are expected to return only on July 25 after four days of official Eid holidays and weekend. The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Friday, settled at $501/mt cfr port Qasim, down by $2/mt. The index, however, rose by $5/mt from the prior Friday. UAE-origin mixed #1 HMS and P&S offers, albeit very limited, dropped by $3-5/mt to $510-512/mt cfr Port Qasim amid softening bids.
The daily index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Friday, settled at $507.5/mt cfr Port Qasim, down by $1.25/mt from a day ago and from the prior Friday. In the US domestic market, HRC prices were above $1,820-1,850/nt ex-works driving the demand for ferrous scrap. July settlements in the US concluded at prices $20/gt higher than June for prime grades.
From prior Friday, the Davis Index for P&S 5ft settled at $551/mt cfr, down $2/mt, while that for #1 busheling unchanged at $575/mt cfr Port Qasim. The supply of high-grade scrap remains tight but demand faded on high offers.
The weekly Davis Indexes for rebar rose to PKR156,000/mt ex-works Karachi and PKR155,000/mt ex-works Punjab, both up by PKR5,250/mt on improving demand. Local rebar offers were above PKR145,000/mt ex-works Lahore.
On Friday, a Lahore-based steelmaker is heard to have hiked rebar prices by PKR4,000/mt boosting post Eid sales sentiment. Most mills shifted their focus on to clearing utility bills due in the last week of the month, amid low profit margins. Overall, the ongoing monsoons have lowered trades.
Steelmakers like Aisha Steel and International Steel have hiked flat steel prices. HRC is up PKR5,850/mt ($36.8/mt) ex-works.
The weekly index for domestic Bala billet dropped by PKR2,500/mt ($16/mt) to PKR128,000/mt ($802/mt) ex-works. The weekly Davis Index for G-60 billet was at PKR136,500/mt ex-works Punjab, down PKR2,000/mt from the prior Friday.
On softening global prices and slow demand, 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, lowered to PKR99,500/mt and PKR101,000/mt ex-yard Lahore, respectively, down by PKR2,500/mt. Buyers resisted purchases of melting and rolling scrap amid high offers. Most steelmakers are waiting for a recovery in steel sales before restocking scrap inventories.
($1=PKR159.6)