The situation in Pakistan’s import hot rolled coil (HRC) market has started to change this week following higher futures prices in China. However, most Chinese traders are still offering their materials with additional discounts. At the same time, other suppliers, like Japan, have been pushing for slight increases in new offers, while no offers have been heard from Taiwan or South Korea. 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 $482-485/mt CFR Pakistan two weeks ago, this week have been offering their coils at around $480-485/mt CFR for end-of-April shipment. Besides, offers for ex-China Q195 HRC have been reported at $470/mt CFR, down by $5/mt over the past two weeks. At the same time, most offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC have remained at $500/mt CFR, according to sources.
In the meantime, suppliers from Japan have been offering their SAE1006 HRC at $520/mt CFR Pakistan, up by $20/mt from deal prices reported in late February, though according to market insiders, most buyers have been bidding at $510/mt CFR.
“The Chinese market has been showing some signs of recovery these days given some rises in HRC futures prices, though most market insiders have remained cautious, while traders keep providing discounts,” a Pakistani traders told SteelOrbis.
As of March 25, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,386/mt ($472/mt), increasing by RMB 16/mt ($2.2/mt) or 0.5 percent since March 18, while up 0.18 percent compared to the previous trading day, March 24, according to SteelOrbis’ data.