Offers for imported scrap in Pakistan have rebounded this week and rare deals have confirmed this. But in general demand has been very weak, among the slowest in South Asia especially at the end of this week, since, even though mills have hiked rebar prices in the local market, this has been attributed to the power tariff hikes, not real demand, SteelOrbis has learned from the market on August 3.
The deals price level for ex-Europe/UK shredded scrap has reached $413/mt CFR Qasim this week, adding $7/mt on average from $404-408/mt CFR last week. Offers, which were mainly voiced at $408-415/mt CFR last week, have all increased to $415/mt CFR even despite slow trading since the middle of this week.
A small deal for 500 mt of ex-UAE P&S scrap has been reported at a low-priced level of $395/mt CFR, but for prompt loading.
Most mills have focused on increases in rebar prices and are trying to evaluate the market conditions first before accepting higher raw material prices. As SteelOrbis reported last week, the Pakistan Association of Large Steel Producers made an announcement that power tariffs will be increased by 25 percent. In the local Pakistani market, new offer prices for base 10-12 mm rebar have been increased to PKR 265,000-270,000/mt ($925-942/mt) ex-works, up by as much as PKR 20,000/mt ($70/mt) from the tradable level seen last week. But it seems that the buyers have not accepted such a sharp increase.
Prices on Pakistani rupee basis include 18 percent VAT.
$1 = PKR 286.18