Pakistan’s import HRC market has seen a downward adjustment in ex-China prices this week, following a deal concluded late last week. Specifically, offers for Chinese origin HRC have softened by around $10/mt, reflecting limited buying interest and regional price pressure. In contrast, offers from other suppliers have remained largely stable, with recent deal prices for ex-Japan material holding firm at $500/mt CFR, indicating continued support at this level.
More specifically, offers for ex-China Q195 HRC have been voiced at $465/mt CFR Pakistan for December shipment, down by $5-10/mt over the past two weeks. Besides, offers for ex-China Q235 HRC have been estimated at $472-474/mt CFR, following deal prices at $485/mt CFR last week. Meanwhile, ex-China SAE1006 HRC offers have settled at around $490/mt CFR, compared to $495-500/mt CFR two weeks ago.
In the meantime, offers for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC have been voiced at $500/mt CFR, mainly the same as few weeks ago, with a deal for around 30,000 mt reported to have been signed at the abovementioned level. Besides, offers for ex-South Korea SAE1006 HRC have settled at $500/mt CFR, while no fresh offers have been heard from Taiwan so far.
According to sources, market sentiments have been worsening given further drops in the HRC futures market in China. As of October 15, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,212/mt ($452/mt), decreasing by RMB 145/mt ($20.4/mt) or 4.3 percent since September 24, while decreasing by 0.86 percent compared to the previous trading day, October 14, according to SteelOrbis’ data.