Imported ferrous scrap prices in Pakistan was on a gradual increase with more buyers stocking inventories. Buyers raised bids on high demand and a surge in offers to secure materials amid a shortage caused by unavailability of vessels, weather conditions and delays in transportation.
Domestic commercial billet prices in the retail market declined on subdued demand from the steel construction sector and as real estate builders and contractors remained unwilling to pay high prices.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Wednesday, rose by $2/mt to settle at $532/mt cfr Qasim. Shredded sold at $530-535/mt cfr Qasim from EU/UK in the last two days. Offers on Wednesday were firm at $535-538/mt cfr Qasim with most mills interested at $530/mt cfr Qasim
In Turkey, the daily Davis Index for bulk imports of US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Tuesday, was at $444.77/mt cfr Turkey, down by $1.62/mt from Monday. Trades for October shipments continued with sellers accepting slightly lower bids in the fresh transactions.
On the other hand, recovery in Asian billet prices boosted by Chinese demand, held sentiments positive in Asian markets. Chinese appetite for billet imports increased due to an extension of production cuts till March 2022.
After a marginal decline, finished steel prices stabilized in China and in the international markets, thus offering hope that ferrous scrap prices have ‘very low to little downside’ risk.
The daily index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $487.5/mt cfr Port Qasim on Wednesday, down by $1.25/mt. Offers remained firm as demand improved but bids remained slow, thus leading to a slight decline in the index.
The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) remained unchanged at $490/mt cfr port Qasim. A few deals for UAE-origin P&S materialised at $505-510/mt cfr Port Qasim.
Large rebar producers listed prices at PKR175,000/mt ex works in Lahore. Commercial rebar remained flat from yesterday and traded at PKR156,000-156,500/mt ex-works.
For domestic Bala billets, offers dropped by another PKR1,000/mt to PKR136,500/mt ($814/mt) ex-works on Wednesday.
In the local market, domestic ferrous scrap prices were stagnant amid low supply.
Input costs remained high for most steel mills thus increasing steel prices to a record high. Ferrous scrap prices on cfr Qasim shot up by almost 80pc since August 2020, from an average of $300/mt to $530/mt currently. Electricity costs surged during the same period from PKR13 to PKR20 per unit, and ferro alloys prices jumped by 55-60pc as cost of logistics increased.
For Art Q toke scrap (equivalent to a mix of HMS and P&S) offers were at PKR109,500-110,000/mt ex-yards Lahore, while those for Pure Q toke scrap (equivalent to shredded) were at PKR112,000-112,500/mt ex-yards Lahore.
($1=PKR167.76)