Pakistani steel mills continued their pre-Eid restocking of imported scrap amid a short supply of domestic scrap. Pakistan remains the preferred market for ferrous scrap sellers in the Indian subcontinent since last week. However, domestic billet and scrap prices in Pakistan adjusted downwards as steel demand slowed after a sharp rise in prices last week.
Major yards from Europe and the US have turned active in the Turkish bulk market this week. Easing supplies pressured bulk prices down by $8-10/mt in recent trades.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Tuesday, was at $547.5/mt cfr Port Qasim, up by $1.25/mt. Deals from the UK/EU and the US origin heard at $547-550/mt cfr Qasim. Most offers, Tuesday, at $550/mt cfr Qasim, however, mills shied away awaiting clarity on global prices.
This year, Eid will be on June 21, and businesses are expected to slow down for at least three-four days in Pakistan. While sellers in the UAE are likely to remain close for almost a week.
In the UAE market, approaching Eid holidays boosted offer prices. Trades for UAE-origin picked up in Pakistan and Bangladesh as Indian buyers stepped out of the competition. The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Tuesday, settled at $503/mt cfr port Qasim, up by $3/mt from a day ago. UAE-origin mixed #1 HMS and P&S offers remained unchanged at $515/mt cfr Port Qasim amid lack of vessel space and containers shortage.
Amid active restocking, Pakistani mills paid around $40/mt higher than the equivalent Indian prices. Offers in India jumped by over $20-25/mt in the last couple of days due to short supply. The index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Tuesday, settled at $507.5/mt cfr Port Qasim unchanged from Monday.
Rebar prices remained stable as end-users absorbed the recent price hike. Rebar traded at PKR155,750/mt ex-works Karachi and PKR154,750/mt ex-works Punjab, on improving demand ahead of Eid. Heavy rains in Karachi impacted transportation, production and domestic sales.
Domestic Bala billet prices continued to drop after rising sharply in the prior week. On Tuesday, Bala billet prices dropped to PKR126,000/mt ($789.28/mt) ex-works falling by over PKR4,000/mt since Friday. Trades for imported scrap could thus slow down if billet sales fail to rise, believe participants.
Despite firm imported scrap offers, domestic scrap prices adjusted downward due to resistance from scrap consumers. Trades for Art Q toke scrap (equivalent to a mix of HMS and P&S) and Pure Q toke scrap (equivalent to shredded), Tuesday, reported at around PKR100,000-100,200/mt and PKR102,500-102,700/mt ex-yard Lahore, respectively, down by PKR1,500-1,800/mt from a day prior.
($1=PKR159.59)