This week, new offers for imported HRC have kept rising in Pakistan mainly due to the ongoing bullishness of Chinese suppliers, while offers from other suppliers have actually remained relatively stable over the past few weeks. At the same time, trade activity has remained in general rather limited due to the lack of clarity regarding the future market trend amid the recent declines in Chinese HRC futures prices.
Specifically, new offers for ex-China SS400 HRC from traders and second-tier mills have been voiced at $580/mt CFR, up by $5-10/mt CFR over the past two weeks, while offers for SEA1006 have settled at $600/mt CFR, with a few small deals reported to have been booked at the abovementioned level. Meanwhile, Chinese offers from first-tier mills have been heard at $595/mt CFR for SS400 HRC and at $610-620/mt CFR for SAE1006 HRC, respectively.
According to market insiders, the current trade conditions have been tough for Pakistani buyers given the uncertainty mounting over ex-China HRC prices, affected by HRC futures price fluctuations. In particular, while at the beginning of this week, on December 11, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange were at RMB 4,122/mt ($579/mt), up by RMB 138/mt ($19.4/mt) since December 4, by Thursday, December 14, HRC futures prices at the Shanghai Future Exchange have settled at RMB 4,047/mt ($570/mt), moving down by RMB 67/mt ($9.4/mt) over the past week, and down by RMB 11/mt ($1.5/mt) since yesterday.
In the meantime, ex-Taiwan SAE1006 HRC offers have been heard at $635-640/mt CFR for end-of-February shipment, up by $5-10/mt week on week. Indicative offers from other suppliers, such as from Japan and South Korea, have been voiced at around $630/mt CFR, following a few deals at $610/mt CFR, according to a Pakistani mill’s representative.
