Pakistani ferrous scrap importers booked several containers on Tuesday to restock material. In the latter half of the day, however, prices showed signs of softening with a decline in rebar prices in Turkey and steel futures in China.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Tuesday, rose by $3.75/mt to $536.25/mt cfr Port Qasim. Containerized trades for the UK/EU-origin shredded were reported in the range of $535-538/mt cfr Qasim. Buyers resisted offers of $540-545/mt cfr Port Qasim. With the Monsoon season near, many small-scale mills could remain away from the market.
In Turkey, the Davis Index for imports of US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) on Monday was at $506.97/mt cfr Turkey, unchanged from Friday. Domestic billet prices declined by $7-10/mt while rebar export offers remained above $750/mt fob Turkey on bullish cues from Asian markets. Chinese iron ore prices have shown recovery on tight supply to reach above $222/mt cfr north China for 62pc Fe content.
Offers for UAE-origin HMS scrap continued to strengthen on firm demand. The Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Tuesday, settled at $502/mt cfr Port Qasim, up by $4/mt from Monday. Trades for UAE-origin mixed #1 HMS and P&S were reported at $510-515/mt cfr Port Qasim amid tight supply.
The daily index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Tuesday, settled at $505/mt cfr Port Qasim, up by $2.36/mt. Already elevated container freights rates, which could rise further on COVID-19-related restrictions at few Chinese ports, including Yantian, could add to landed costs for importers.
Finished steel prices were also firm, and mills in the country eyed further hikes on a continuous rise in ferrous scrap prices. In the domestic market, domestic Bala billet traded at PKR116,700-117,000/mt ex-works, down PKR500-800/mt from a day ago.
Offers for local rebar were at PKR131,000/mt ex-works. Medium-scale steelmakers sold rebar at PKR145,500-146,000/mt ex-works Karachi and PKR144,000-144,500/mt ex-works Punjab.
Distressed to sell amid liquidity crunch, domestic ferrous scrap sellers reduced offers. Asking prices for Art Q toke scrap (equivalent to a mix of HMS and P&S) and Pure Q toke scrap (equivalent to shredded) were at PKR94,000/mt and PKR95,500/mt ex-yard Lahore, respectively, both down by PKR1,000/mt from Monday. Few are still waiting for clarity on the impact of budget FY2021-22 announced on June 11 especially on the steel and construction industries, keeping steel trades slow again.
($1=PKR155.87)