Pakistan’s import scrap prices have remained relatively stable or have been showing a slight downward bias in occasional deals over the past two weeks, amid weak domestic demand, the continuous depreciation of the rupee and tight liquidity conditions.
More specifically, this week most offers for ex-EU/UK shredded scrap in containers have dropped to $353-355/mt CFR, versus $355-360/mt CFR two weeks ago. Besides, according to sources, several deals for around 6,000 mt of shredded scrap have been signed at the abovementioned levels during the past seven days.
Meanwhile, offers for ex-UAE HMS grade scrap have been voiced at $338-343/mt CFR Qasim port, compared to $343/mt CFR two weeks ago. Offer prices for shredded scrap from the UAE have settled at around $360/mt CFR, down by $5/mt over the past two weeks.
“Pakistan’s imported scrap market may experience modest upward pressure as cold weather hampers collection by EU suppliers. Nevertheless, limited access to liquidity, despite a traditional rise in demand toward month-end could prevent mills and importers from pursuing more assertive booking strategies,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
At the same time, local prices of scrap equivalent to shredded in Pakistan have settled at around PKR 135,000-140,000/mt ($475-493/mt) ex-warehouse, mainly the same as two weeks ago. However, the tradable level for local 10-12 mm grade 60 rebar has declined by around PKR 8,000/mt ($28/mt) to PKR 222,000-225,000/mt ($781-792/mt) ex-works over the past two weeks.
All prices on Pakistani rupee basis include 18 percent VAT.
$1 = PKR 284.16