On June 6, the main Pakistan-based rebar mills announced a new hike in offer prices, citing the dramatic increase in power tariffs, coupled with the continuing depreciation of the national currency. Specifically, since the beginning of the current year, the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar has depreciated by 14 percent, showing a record weakness against the dollar in May this year.
Accordingly, this time local rebar producers in Pakistan have increased their rebar prices by around PKR 7,000-8,000/mt ($37-40/mt). As a result of the revision, 10-12 mm rebar of grade 60 is available at around PKR 221,000-224,000/mt ($1,108-1,124/mt) ex-works. “Rebar producers were forced to increase their prices due to the continuous pressure of scrap prices, the devaluation of rupee, the hike in the costs of energy and fuel, and severe supply chain disruptions,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
Meanwhile, the rise in offers of shredded 211 scrap of UK and European origin has slowed down this week. In particular, import shredded scrap prices have fallen to $510-520/mt CFR, down by $15/mt over the past week. A few lots of small tonnages (up to 2,000 mt) have been booked at $510/mt CFR.
Local suppliers of scrap equivalent to shredded have increased their prices to around PKR 131,300/mt ($659/mt) ex-warehouse, compared to PKR 125,000-128,000/mt ($630-645/mt) ex-warehouse valid a week ago.
All prices on Pakistani rupee basis include 17 percent VAT.
$1 = PKR 199.3
