After a relatively long lull in bookings, Pakistani hot rolled coil (HRC) customers have purchased considerable volumes of material within the current week.
Accordingly, following offers announced after the New Year holidays mostly at above $800/mt CFR, Pakistani customers have preferred to adopt a wait-and-see stance. However, after a two week-long absence, which has exerted pressure on foreign suppliers, Pakistani customers have succeeded in pushing prices down and, as a consequence, have signed a few bookings. SteelOrbis has learned of a total purchase of 20,000 mt of ex-Taiwan SAE10006 HRC at $780/mt CFR and about 15,000-20,000 mt of ex-Japan SAE10006 HRC at $800/mt CFR. The material is destined to be shipped from the end of March to the middle of April. Offers of ex-Turkey HRC at $825-840/mt CFR have failed to attract interest, market sources say.
Meanwhile, SteelOrbis has learned of one more booking for 1,000 mt of ex-China SAE1006 HRC at $670/mt CFR. The price is at least $20/mt lower than all other offers voiced in the market, as the material was sold from a trader’s position.