Pakistan’s imported scrap market has remained subdued over the past two weeks, with trading activity failing to recover after the Eid-ul-Adha holiday and with buyers still maintaining a cautious stance ahead of the announcement of Pakistan’s federal budget. Import shredded scrap prices have remained broadly stable, while buyers’ bids have been voiced at lower levels amid weak finished steel demand and limited urgency to secure fresh cargoes.
More specifically, ex-UK/EU shredded scrap offers have been heard at around $420-425/mt CFR Qasim this week, remaining broadly in line with the levels reported two weeks ago. Meanwhile, bids for ex-EU/UK shredded scrap have been heard at around $415/mt CFR Qasim, with buyers continuing to resist higher levels. According to sources, a 1,000 mt cargo of ex-UK shredded scrap is reported to have been booked at $420/mt CFR Qasim, though no other significant fresh buying has been reported this week, while the market has remained slow after the holiday period. “Trading activity is expected to remain slow until the announcement of the federal budget,” a Pakistani market participant told SteelOrbis.
As for ex-UAE material, market visibility has improved slightly this week after Middle Eastern cargoes had remained largely absent from the Pakistani market in recent weeks. Against this backdrop, ex-UAE HMS scrap offers have been heard at around $425/mt CFR Qasim this week. However, no concluded deals have been reported so far, and no confirmation has been received at the time of writing.
In the Pakistani domestic market, activity has remained weak, with market sources pointing to limited finished steel demand and cautious procurement by mills. Local scrap equivalent to shredded has been heard at PKR 150,000-160,000/mt ($539-575/mt) ex-warehouse, compared to PKR 147,000-156,000/mt ($528-560/mt) ex-warehouse two weeks ago. Meanwhile, local 10-12 mm grade 60 rebar prices have been heard at PKR 240,000/mt ($862/mt) ex-works for advance payment and at PKR 243,000/mt ($873/mt) ex-works on 30-day credit terms, compared to PKR 245,000-250,000/mt ($880-898/mt) ex-works two weeks ago.
Market sources indicate that buying interest is likely to remain limited in the near term, as mills are expected to wait for a clearer direction from the upcoming budget before resuming more active procurement. Some mills’ capacity utilization has been estimated at around 30-35 percent amid continued weakness in construction activity and downstream steel consumption.
All prices on Pakistani rupee basis include 18 percent VAT.
$1 = PKR 278.50
