On October 21, the main Pakistan-based rebar mills have announced a new hike in offer prices, citing the dramatic increase in power tariffs and scrap prices, coupled with the continuing depreciation of the national currency. Specifically, since the beginning of October, the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar has devaluated by two percent, while since the beginning of the current year it has weakened against the US currency by almost nine percent.
Accordingly, this time local rebar producers in Pakistan have increased their rebar prices by PKR 5,000/mt ($29/mt). As a result of the revision, 10-12 mm rebar of grade 60 in the Karachi region is available at PKR 187,500/mt ($1,080/mt) ex-works, while in Lahore domestic rebar is offered at PKR 183,000/mt ($1,055/mt) ex-works.
Meanwhile, the rise in offers of shredded 211 scrap of European origin has continued to gain momentum. Towards the end of the current week, import shredded scrap prices have reached $560/mt CFR, up a further $20-25/mt over the past week. A few lots of small tonnages (up to 2,000 mt) have been booked at $555/mt CFR and slightly above.
In particular, local suppliers of scrap equivalent to shredded have increased their prices to PKR 115,200/mt ($664/mt) ex-warehouse compared to PKR 113,000/mt ($662/mt) ex-warehouse Lahore valid a week ago.
All prices on Pakistani rupee basis include 17 percent VAT.
$1 = PKR 173.411