During the past week, offers for import shredded scrap in Pakistan have again increased noticeably. However, Pakistani customers have become even more cautious as regards booking new orders on the back of escalating uncertainty concerning the future development of the market. Most customers have become more confused this week, as the rate of increase of offers to Pakistan has lagged behind the growth in the global market.
Nevertheless, offers for shredded 211 scrap of European origin in containers to Pakistan have moved up by $25/mt over the past week, to $425-430/mt CFR Qasim, for January delivery. “The market is crazy and absolutely unpredictable nowadays. Hence, nobody is interested in buying big volumes,” a representative of a Pakistani mill commented. “It seems that the market is not in sync now. It is shocking that Turkey is skyrocketing with each booking, while we still receive official and firm offers for shredded scrap at $425/mt CFR,” one of the major customers in Pakistan stated, describing the situation at the end of the current week. As SteelOrbis reported previously, the benchmark HMS I/II 80:20 scrap price in Turkey is estimated to be at around $429/mt CFR, considered the most recent bookings by Turkish mills.
Additionally, the uncertainty of Pakistani steel mills has been compounded by bearish sentiments in the local finished steel segment. “People are scared at the moment as the prices of finished steel are not moving up in parallel to scrap,” one source said. According to sources, domestically rebar is priced at $731-750/mt (PKR 117,000-120,000/mt), up $18/mt (PKR 3,000/mt) from the lower end of last week’s range (prices are on ex-works basis and include 17 percent VAT). It has been pointed out that the activity in Pakistani rebar market has weakened lately, with only government investment projects continuing, while the activities of property builders are slowing week by week.
$1 = PKR 159.992