Pakistani ferrous scrap importers continued to consistently resist high offers. Following the drop in steel prices in China, mills have turned cautious await some correction. Bulk purchases in Turkey as well as buying from South Asia was pressurized on subdued domestic steel sales.
Mills in Turkey are quiet after completing their ferrous scrap bookings for June-July shipments. Pakistani importers pulled their bids down as traders started to turn impatient and were keen to sell material before prices drop further.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Wednesday, settled at $511.56/mt cfr Port Qasim, down $0.94/mt as buyers consistently refused high offers. On Wednesday, bids dropped to $507-510/mt cfr Qasim after a few trades at $510-512/mt cfr Qasim early in the week following the sharp fall in Chinese steel prices.
In Turkey, rebar exporter mills have vantage over other supplier countries as their offers are still around $100/mt lower than the competition. The Davis index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled unchanged on Monday at $513.19/mt cfr Turkey. On Tuesday, indications of a $5-10/mt drop in the domestic market emerged.
The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $493/mt cfr Port Qasim, down $5/mt. UAE sellers were under pressure to sell HMS at lower prices driven by a sharp drop in Indian bids, which fell over $10/mt again on Wednesday.
The daily index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Wednesday, settled at $495/mt cfr Port Qasim, down $2.5/mt. Although supplier yards preferred to sell in their domestic markets, mills buying interest plunged below $485-490/mt cfr Qasim. Mills were largely away from US-origin HMS and preferred to secure material from short-transit routes.
In the domestic market, Art Pure Q Toke scrap equivalent to shredded priced at PKR94,800-95,200/mt ex-yards. Bala billet prices were stable at PKR117,000-117,500/mt ex-works, while continuous casting billets priced at PKR125,000/mt ex-works, down PKR1,000/mt ex-works on Wednesday.
Offers for G-60 rebar at PKR141,000-142,000/mt ex-works Lahore, witnessing a total hike by over PKR10,000/mt post-Eid, while asking prices by small-scale steelmakers for rebar at PKR132,000/mt ex-works Lahore.
($1=PKR154.1)