Trading activities for finished steel and imported ferrous scrap took a short pause as Pakistan declared Aug 18 and 19 (9th and 10th Muharram Ul Haram) to be bank holidays.
Major steel mills were unwilling to take new sale orders before closing for holidays, as they expected another round of price hike by PKR5,000-6,000/mt ($30-36/mt) as trades resume on Friday. Regular trades, however, could resume from next Monday.
Imported ferrous scrap prices were firm in Pakistan on steady demand despite a decline in prices in Turkey and China.
Potential logistic challenges and worsening shortage of container could lead to delays and increase freight charges.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Wednesday, settled at $539/mt cfr Qasim, up $1.5/mt from Tuesday. Trades for shredded were reported above $537-540/mt cfr Qasim amid pre-holiday restocking by mills.
In Turkey, ferrous scrap prices could increase as mills resort to ferrous cargo bookings amid few billet trades and domestic rebar sales in the bulk market.
A surge in demand and increased bids in India, boosted offers for UAE origin materials in Pakistan. The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) Wednesday settled at $495/mt cfr port Qasim, up $1/mt. Trades for UAE-origin mixed #1 HMS and P&S continued around $510/mt cfr Port Qasim early this week.
The daily index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Wednesday, was at $492.5/mt cfr Port Qasim, up by $1.5/mt from Tuesday. Firm containerized freight rates and space crunch in vessels supported prices, despite a decline in collection prices for supplier yards in the US east coast and European countries.
Rebar makers suspended new orders on Tuesday and could resume trades post Muharram holidays, on Friday. Mills are expecting an upward revision of PKR 5,000-6,000/mt on high input costs. Before sales closed, rebar G-60 offers were at PKR166,000-167,000/mt ex-works Karachi and around PKR165,000/mt ex-works Punjab.
Domestic Bala billet traded higher by PKR1,500/mt in the range PKR139,500-140,000/mt ex-works Lahore before sales closed for holidays.
Offers for Art Q toke scrap (equivalent to a mix of HMS and P&S) maintained an uptrend to reach PKR107,500-108,000/mt ex-yard Lahore and Pure Q toke scrap (equivalent to shredded) to PKR109,500-110,000/mt ex-yard Lahore following a supply crunch.
($1=PKR164.29)