Pakistan’s import scrap market has softened further, losing around $6/mt in new deals since late August as demand remains constrained. Market activity has been hit hard by flooding and heavy rains, first across the Punjab and now moving south into Sindh, compounding the lack of buying interest from mills. At the same time, the absence of any improvement in finished steel demand has kept sentiment fragile, limiting the near-term prospects for a recovery.
More specifically, offers for ex-EU/UK shredded scrap in containers have settled at $372-375/mt CFR, compared to $378-382/mt CFR two weeks ago, with several deals for around 5,000 mt in total for ex-UK scrap reported to have been done at $368-372/mt CFR over the past ten days.
Meanwhile, offers for ex-UAE HMS grade scrap have been voiced at $365/mt CFR, down by $5/mt over the past two weeks, while shredded scrap offers from the UAE have been voiced at $388-390/mt CFR, down by $2/mt on the lower end of the range since the end of August.
According to sources, Pakistan’s scrap market is likely to stay sluggish for now, as demand is constrained by flooding in key regions and currency depreciation. Besides, a rebound in prices may only emerge once the post-monsoon construction activity helps lift steel demand.
Local prices of scrap equivalent to shredded in Pakistan have settled at around PKR 140,000/mt ($493/mt) ex-warehouse, the same as in late August. Besides, the tradable level for local 10-12 mm rebar of grade 60 has been heard at PKR 230,000-235,000/mt ($810-828/mt) ex-works, moving sideways over the past two weeks.
All prices on Pakistani rupee basis include 18 percent VAT.
$1 = PKR 283.82