Pakistani mills and ferrous scrap importers returned to the market for imported ferrous scrap amid limited stock in hand. Domestic steel prices were on an uptrend after a hike of $20/mt announced by one of the leading rebar makers in the South.
Though, the impact of shipping lines’ stance to lower the free days in Pakistan, among other countries, is unclear. The revision would be effective from January 1, 2020, as shipping companies deal with a container shortage. Thus, traders exercised caution while booking material.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Thursday, rose by $3.25/mt to settle at $405/mt cfr Port Qasim. Some deals for UK/EU origin shredded were heard at $403-405/mt cfr Port Qasim. Offers rose to $407-410/mt cfr Port Qasim. Before shuttering their yards for Christmas and New Year holidays, European suppliers continued to target high prices amid a supply crunch.
The Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $387/mt cfr Port Qasim, up by $7/mt from Wednesday. Limited trades were at $385-390/mt cfr Port Qasim. Dubai-origin containerized mixed #1 HMS and P&S sarya was offered at prices above at $390/mt cfr Port Qasim.
The index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Thursday, settled at $384/mt cfr Port Qasim, up by $6.86/mt from Wednesday. Finished steel prices are strong in Turkey, US, and the CIS region. Offers for Chinese HRC were at prices above $670/mt cfr Pakistan following global cues. Turkish mills are offering material at $730/mt cfr while the USA mills are targetting higher prices of $800/mt Port Karachi, said leading HRC importer in Pakistan.
Domestic rebar prices rise
In the southern region, trades for rebar were reported at PKR117,000-118,000/mt ex-works Karachi, up by PKR2,000-3,000/mt from December 4. In Punjab, G-60 rebar prices were at PKR114,500-115,500/mt ex-works on Thursday.
A major mill in the South announced a price hike for rebar by PKR3,000/mt ($19/mt) effective December 10. Prices were revised to PKR122,000-123,000/mt ($762-768/mt) ex-works. Rebar makers continued to lift offers despite slow demand to pass on the increased input cost to end-users, despite weak demand.
In the domestic market, Bala billet prices stayed firm with trades at PKR93,500-94,000/mt ($590-595/mt) ex-works Punjab, with the possibility of a further rise in the coming days.
Prices for Art Q toke scrap equivalent to a mix of HMS and P&S were at PKR73,000-73,500/mt ex-works Lahore. Trades for the Pure Q Toke (shredded) were heard at PKR74,300-74,800/mt ($ ex-yards, with offers subsequently rising above PKR75,000/mt ex-yards on Thursday. For shipbreakers, offers of scrapped tankers and containers were at $420-440/ldt cfr Pakistan.
($1=PKR160.2)