Import HRC prices in Pakistan have dropped over the past few weeks, following the trend seen in China and generally in Asia. China is still dominating the Pakistani market, but for now prices seem to have reached the bottom and sellers claim that the fall in prices has also stopped in the Chinese domestic market. However, most market sources agree that the decline may resume in one or two weeks since demand is still weak.
The latest deals for Chinese Q195 HRC have been done at $512-513/mt CFR Pakistan, slightly down from offers at $515/mt CFR last week and previous active bookings at $525/mt CFR Pakistan in mid-June. Offers for ex-China Q235 3-12 mm HRC have been heard at $515-517/mt CFR since late last week. But now some indications from sellers are higher by $2-3/mt compared to the abovementioned levels. “This has been acceptable as local prices are under pressure as well,” a local source said.
As for non-VAT HRC trading from China it has been almost absent. “Some sellers still offer non-VAT, but in very limited quantities and that gets booked very fast,” another Pakistan-based source said.
As for ex-China SAE1006 HRC, there have been deals for 5,000-7,000 mt mt in total at $530-534/mt CFR Pakistan, before that a few bookings for the same grade were done at $535-539/mt CFR approximately early last week. The prices for this grade have lost $15/mt over the past three weeks. But after the deal price level touched $530/mt CFR, the downtrend has paused. One local trader commented, “Now offers have come back to $535/mt CFR or higher depending on the seller.”
Nevertheless, a rebound is very questionable in the current conditions. “I don’t think prices can rebound. They are expected to go down, but at a slower pace as there is a lack of demand overall and the inventory build-up is leading to a decrease,” one more source in Pakistan commented.
With aggressive pricing seen from China, other Asian HRC exporters have had less chance to sell in Pakistan. The tradable level for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC has been reported at $550/mt CFR, which is $20-25/mt lower than the level seen three weeks ago. “For Japan and South Korea there are only indications. They don’t want to sell that low if they have options,” a Japanese source said.
