Pakistan - Imported Scrap Offers Down; Demand Remains Stable

Imported scrap offers to Pakistan have come down in the last few days, after continuous uptrend for more than 3 weeks. Recent bookings in other markets at lowered prices, including a deep sea cargo to Turkey and 3 bulk cargoes to Bangladesh, have pulled down offers, while container shortage situation has led to a reduction in the number of offers from most suppliers.

SteelMint's assessment for containerized Shredded 211 scrap from UK/Europe currently stands in the range of USD 308-313/MT CFR, moving down by USD 6-7/MT on a weekly basis. Some trades for Shredded from UK got concluded at USD 312/MT and few bookings from USA were reported at around USD 308/MT.

In comparison to last week, when UK yards were offering between USD 314-318/MT CFR for Shredded, present offers range between USD 310-312/MT CFR from UK and 308-309/MT CFR from USA, with decent interest from buyers.

"We sold 2000 MT of USA origin shredded 211 today at USD 308/MT CFR. There was a slight dip in buying since yesterday on price fluctuation, however demand from mills is strong due to lack of bookings in Jan'20" shared a reliable trade source.

HMS offers from UAE have witnessed a drop after trades were slow in the past several days. HMS 1 super (no ci gi) is now being offered at USD 295/MT, down USD 10/MT over the last week, while higher grade HMS sarya/P&S is being 300/MT against last sale at USD 310-315 over a week ago. Market is expecting further drop in prices in the coming days, considering how the global market is playing out currently.

After last week's bulk booking, the first for Pakistan in over 2 years, there have been reports that another bulk booking to Pakistan is under negotiation at around 290-295/MT CFR for Shredded from USA, which may be bought by several steelmakers coming together. Ongoing container shortage resulting in longer container freight time and price, has made Bulk booking more viable among South Asian buyers.

Domestic Steel Prices Inch Up - After remaining flat for over 6 weeks, domestic steel prices showed some improvement, as upcoming summer season is expected to witness increased demand, which have remained sluggish since slowdown in construction activities. Local scrap prices also moved up amid tight supply, especially for good quality 'Qanchi Toe' grade. It was also reported that Iran-Pakistan 'Chaman' border is closed till March mid, on corona-virus outbreak in Iran.

In the northern region, rebar's average offer prices were reported at around PKR 106,000-107,000/MT, ex-works (USD 688-694), up PKR 1000/MT w-o-w, while southern (Karachi region) steel mills are offering at PKR 108,000 ex works.