The situation in Pakistan’s import hot rolled coil (HRC) market has started to change this week following lower offers coming from Chinese suppliers, after weeks of increases. At the same time, other suppliers, like those from South Korea and Taiwan, have continued to push for higher offers, while no offers have been heard from Japan. Thus, trade activity has remained muted in Pakistan as the future market direction is still unclear.
Accordingly, Chinese traders, who were offering SS400 HRC position cargoes at $565/mt CFR Pakistan last week and at the beginning of this week, have decreased their offers to $550-560/mt CFR for end of December-January shipment by Wednesday, November 23.
In the meantime, suppliers from South Korean have been offering their SAE1006 HRC at $580/mt CFR Pakistan, up by $10/mt week on week, while offers for ex-Taiwan SAE1006 HRC have settled at $600/mt CFR, compared to $570/mt CFR two weeks ago. At the same time, according to market insiders, the most competitive offers have been heard for ex-Vietnam HRC at $560-570/mt CFR this week. Meanwhile, suppliers from Japan have been staying out of the market, “evaluating the situation and preparing for the new round,” according to sources
