Aiming to take full advantage of the ongoing uptrend in the global flats market, most foreign hot rolled coil (HRC) suppliers had decided to delay the announcement of fresh offers to Pakistan. However, by the end of the current week the key sellers have returned to the market with prices about $100/mt higher compared to the levels voiced at the end of March, leaving Pakistani customers no other choice but to accept the new prices.
Accordingly, while Taiwanese and South Korean suppliers have voiced their SAE1004 HRC offers at $1,000/mt CFR Karachi, HRC from Japan have been offered at 20/mt higher. One Pakistani re-roller is heard to be in talks for ex-Taiwan HRC at $990/mt CFR Karachi, for July shipment.
As SteelOrbis reported previously, following the increase in CRC and HDG prices in early April, at the beginning of the current week Pakistani re-rollers again made upward adjustments to their CRC and HDG prices, by PKR 3,000/mt ($20/mt), aiming to offset the rise in feedstock prices.