Pakistan’s imported HRC market has posted a modest uptick over the past two weeks. However, buying interest has remained muted ahead of the Eid holiday, despite slightly firmer offers from China and other overseas suppliers, such as Japan and South Korea. Market participants indicate that sentiment has been gradually deteriorating throughout Ramadan.
More specifically, offers for ex-China 3 mm Q195 HRC for late April shipment have been voiced at $501-506/mt CFR, versus $495-497/mt CFR two weeks ago. At the same time, according to some sources, Chinese offers for 3-12 mm Q235 HRC have been voiced at around $511/mt CFR, up by $10/mt over the past two weeks. Besides, offers for ex-China SAE1006 HRC have settled at around $515-520/mt CFR.
In the meantime, offers for ex-Japan SAE1006 HRC are at $530/mt CFR for May shipment, versus $510-520/mt CFR two weeks ago, while offers for SAE1006 HRC from suppliers from South Korea have been reported at $525/mt CFR, up by $20/mt since late February.
As of March 18, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,310/mt ($480/mt), increasing by RMB 41/mt ($6/mt) since March 11, while rising by 0.21 percent compared to the previous trading day, March 17.
“Market activity is set to remain subdued over the next week amid the Eid-related slowdown, with cautious positioning on both sides and lingering freight and geopolitical uncertainties continuing to pressure sentiment,” a Pakistani trader told SteelOrbis.