This week, import scrap offers in Pakistan have remained largely unchanged, though a number of deals for ex-EU/UK shredded scrap in containers have been reported at slightly higher levels as compared to last week. At the same time, while a number of Pakistani buyers have started restocking, signing new deals, there are still a lot of customers who have remained out of the market, waiting for finished steel sales to pick up first.
More specifically, offers for ex-EU/UK shredded scrap have been voiced at $425-428/mt CFR, mainly the same as last week, while several deals for around 4,000-5,000 mt in total have been signed at $425-426/mt CFR, up by $2/mt on the lower end of the range week on week. Meanwhile, a few deals for ex-US shredded scrap have been signed at $418-419/mt CFR, while ex-US offers for shredded scrap have been voiced at around $422/mt CFR.
In the meantime, this week Pakistani steel mills, including Amreli Steels, Naveena Steel Mills and Mughal Steel, have increased their rebar prices by around PKR 5,000/mt ($18/mt) due to increased input costs. Specifically, tradable local prices for 10-12 mm rebar of grade 60 have been estimated at PKR 260,000-264,000/mt ($934-949/mt) ex-works, up by around PKR 10,000/mt ($36/mt) week on week, while offers from mills have increased to PKR 265,0000- 268,500/mt ($952-965/mt) ex-works.
Offers for local scrap equivalent to shredded have increased as well over the past week, by around PKR 5,000/mt ($18/mt) to PKR 160,000/mt ($575/mt) ex-warehouse.
“Budget 2024-2025 has brought several tax reforms, which make scrap imports more viable as compared to using locally available scrap,” a market insider said, adding, “Increased rebar prices have activated the market and given it a shock, sales have improved week on week, and liquidity seems to be getting better as the financial year closure is done and the Eid holiday is over.”
All prices on Pakistani rupee basis include 18 percent VAT.
$1 = PKR 278.32