Pakistan’s import scrap market has continued to soften over the past two weeks, with prices facing sustained downward pressure amid weak domestic demand, depreciation of the rupee, and tight liquidity conditions. While mills are expected to maintain selective restocking to meet winter operating needs, the broader construction slowdown is likely to limit any meaningful rebound in pricing in the near term.
More specifically, this week most offers for ex-EU/UK shredded scrap in containers have dropped to $355-360/mt CFR, down by $5/mt on the lower end of the range over the past two weeks. However, according to sources, several deals for shredded scrap have been signed at $355-358/mt CFR Qasim.
Meanwhile, offers for ex-UAE HMS/PNS grade scrap have been voiced at $343/mt CFR Qasim port and at $345/mt CFR Karachi port, compared to $350-355/mt CFR two weeks ago. Tradable prices for shredded scrap from the UAE have settled at around $365/mt CFR, though most offers have been reported at $372-375/mt CFR, versus $380/mt CFR two weeks ago. Notably, scrap offers from the UAE have moved down, largely due to oversupply in their domestic market. Sources note that, while yard availability in Dubai has tightened, mills there reportedly paused scrap intake for several weeks because of excess inventories and weak consumption. As a result, more material has been diverted toward export channels, adding to the downward pressure on regional prices.
At the same time, local prices of scrap equivalent to shredded in Pakistan have settled at around PKR 135,000-138,000/mt ($481-491/mt) ex-warehouse, mainly the same as two weeks ago. Besides, the tradable level for local 10-12 mm rebar of grade 60 has remained at PKR 230,000-232,000/mt ($819-826/mt) ex-works.
All prices on Pakistani rupee basis include 18 percent VAT.
$1 = PKR 280.90