Pakistani mills stayed in wait-and-watch mode on Monday. Active rebar sales ahead of peak construction demand season are expected to increase trades. Mills with limited inventories could restock ferrous scrap in the coming days. Anticipating higher demand, traders are enquiring, but sellers are not keen to match low bids.
The daily Davis Index for containerized shredded, Monday, dropped by $5/mt to $395/mt cfr Port Qasim. Shredded scrap in containers traded between $395/mt cfr Qasim with a few claiming to have sold it at $390/mt cfr Qasim. Sellers were unwilling to match lower bids amid tight supply and high freight rates. They expect prices to rebound soon.
According to weekly containers freight maintained with Davis Index, freight to Pakistan rose by another $10/mt for containers on the New York to Pakistan route.
The daily index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $372.5/mt cfr Port Qasim, down $2.86/mt. Drop-in containerized prices in the US fas market lowered bids in the South Asian markets.
Offers for #1 HMS and P&S from UAE were in the range of $375-380/mt cfr Port Qasim, depending on quality. The daily Davis Index for UAE-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), Monday, dropped by $3/mt to $366/mt cfr Port Qasim. Some UAE sellers refused to lower offers and hoping for prices to rebound once Turkish mills resume bulk trades.
Rebar prices drop, trades up
Domestic steel prices and sales are under pressure with buyers reluctant to book material. In Lahore, G-60 billet traded at PKR104,000-105,000/mt ex-works. Prices for Bala billet heard at PKR96,000-97,000/mt ex-works on Monday.
With the domestic ferrous scrap market showing signs of bottoming, large mills are likely to hold their rebar and billet prices ahead of peak housing construction season. On Monday local rebar traded at PKR108,000-110,000/mt ex-works depending on delivery terms.
Offers for Art Pure Q toke scrap equivalent to a mix of HMS and P&S offered at PKR77,500-78,000/mt ex-yard Lahore amid tight domestic scrap supply.
($1=PKR160.20)