Although import hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have increased recently and a bullish mood persists among all main exporters, most Pakistani buyers have decided to adopt a wait-and-see stance and have refrained from new bookings, having replenished their inventories last week. Several deals for around 30,000 mt in total of ex-Saudi Arabia HRC were reported to have been done last week at $760-765/mt CFR for March shipment. Also, SteelOrbis has learned that during the past week a small batch of ex-Indonesia coils has been booked at $768-770/mt CFR for end-of-February shipment.
In the meantime, import HRC offers have inched up in Pakistan this week. Offers for ex-Taiwan SAE1006 HRC have been heard at $825/mt CFR, up around $20/mt over the past week, while new prices for Chinese SS400 HRC have increased by $20-30/mt week on week to $820-830/mt CFR. Also, after Pakistani customers booked SAE1006 HRC ex-Japan at $770/mt CFR at the beginning of last week, new offers have inched up to around $805/mt CFR, though, after the recently announced intention of a large Japanese mill to increase new offers for March shipment coils by $100/mt, new offers have been announced to Pakistani customers at $850/mt CFR by the end of this week. This uptrend is mainly explained by a cost push from soaring coking coal prices along with higher quotes for Indian and Chinese material.
With bullish sentiments in the global steel and raw material markets mounting lately, Pakistani HRC buyers are likely to regain their appetite for feedstock in the coming weeks, aiming to secure themselves from anticipated increases in prices.
