New offers for shredded scrap in Pakistan have increased this week, exceeding $650/mt CFR. Meanwhile, considering the still weak finished steel sales in Pakistan, inquiries for import scrap have been limited in the country despite the overall bullishness of foreign suppliers. Besides, the national currency has continued to set new record lows against the dollar, putting additional pressure on the market.
Accordingly, after shredded 211 scrap of UK and European origin was sold last week at $639-642/mt CFR to the Pakistani market, new deals were reported at $640-645/mt CFR at the beginning of this week. However, new offers are standing at $650-660/mt CFR, up by $20/mt over the past week. “Trade is very limited ahead of Ramadan and some bids are still standing at $635-640/mt CFR,” a market insider told SteelOrbis. Meanwhile, offers for ex-UAE HMS I have been voiced at $615-620/mt CFR, compared to $620-625/mt CFR last week.
“Pakistani mills are reluctant to buy high-value inventories and to sell at lower than cost. Besides, the start of Ramadan from early next week is likely to limit scrap and steel trade activities,” a Pakistan-based trader said.
Meanwhile, domestic prices of scrap equivalent to shredded have increased by PKR 1,000/mt ($6/mt) to PKR 124,500-128,500/mt ($682-703/mt) ex-warehouse. However, due to the continuous depreciation of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar, the dollar-based quotations remained at the same level as last week. In particular, this week, the rate of the Pakistani rupee has plunged again to a record low of around PKR 182.3 against the US dollar, compared to PKR 181.2 per $1 last week.
Local offers for domestic grade 60 rebar have increased as well, to around PKR 208,000-210,000/mt ($1,139-1,150/mt) ex-works, up by PKR 5,000-7,000/mt ($27-38/mt) over the past week.
All prices on Pakistani rupee basis include 17 percent VAT.
$1 = PKR 182.3