Flexible HRC offers attract interest in Pakistan

Import hot rolled coil (HRC) offers in Pakistan have continued to rise in line with the global trend. However, muted demand for finished steel products in Pakistan, mainly caused by Covid-19, continues to put pressure on HRC importers. For instance, there have been no changes in prices for domestic cold rolled (CR) and hot dip galvanized (HDG) coils since May. Hence, negotiations with Pakistan’s HRC buyers in most cases succeed only if discounts are agreed.

Accordingly, SteelOrbis has been informed about a SAE 1006 ex-Japan HRC booking done last week, with all the details of the deal being confidential at the moment of publication, though the deal was done at a level below official offers. As of now, HRC from South Korea and Japan is available at $460/mt CFR LO Karachi, which is $35/mt higher than prices fixed in deals in the previous buying cycle at the beginning of June.
A lot of 5,000 mt Chinese SAE 1006 HRC was booked at $459/mt CFR about a week ago, SteelOrbis has learned.