HRC trade in Pakistan has been more active this week, with prices showing divergent trends as Chinese suppliers, especially non-VAT traders, have decided to decrease prices in order to attract customers, while suppliers from Japan and Taiwan have succeeded in concluding new sales to Pakistan at prices which have remained stable at high levels.
More specifically, buyers in Pakistan have reported about at least 15,000 mt of ex-China SAE1006 HRC being booked from a first-tier Chinese mill at $610-615/mt CFR, while around 5,000-10,000 mt are reported to have been bought at $600/mt CFR from a second-tier Chinese mill. This means ex-China SAE1006 HRC price has lost around $5-20/mt over the past two weeks. Furthermore, according to sources, a few small-quantity deals of ex-China SS400/Q195 HRC through traders have been signed at $575/mt CFR, while the same material has been also sold in Pakistan from a first-tier mill at $580-585/mt CFR, versus $590-600/mt CFR two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, although other suppliers have been less active in Pakistan during past months, this week a deal for 30,000 mt of ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC has been signed at $630/mt CFR, at the same level as two weeks ago. Besides, another deal for 10,000 mt of ex-Taiwan HRC has been reported at $640/mt CFR for March shipment, according to sources.
“Higher trade activity is mainly due to rolling mills who aim to keep production alive at their plants, rather than due to a demand recovery in the country,” a Pakistani trader told SteelOrbis.