Pakistan’s import scrap market has continued to show rather limited business activity affected by the general economic uncertainty following the general elections on February 8. At the same time, although most offers for import scrap have remained unchanged, market insiders have reported slight decreases from some suppliers.
More specifically, offers for ex-UK/EU shredded scrap in containers have been heard at $440-445/mt CFR, against $445/mt CFR last week. Meanwhile, several deals for at least 5,000-7,000 mt in total have been signed in the range of $440-444/mt CFR, against $442-444/mt CFR last week. Furthermore, a few deals are reported to have been signed for ex-US shredded scrap in containers at $435/mt CFR, the same as last week.
Meanwhile, business activity with sellers from the Middle East have remined extremely limited in Pakistan due to the issue regarding imposition of export duty. ¨Most Pakistani buyers are sceptical about future bookings from the UAE, though prices for HMS and PNS mixed batches are still voiced at $415/mt CFR,¨ a market insider told SteelOrbis.
Meanwhile, local offers for 10-12 mm rebar of grade 60 from major Pakistani mills have been announced this week at PKR 274,000-276,500/mt ($981-990/mt) ex-works, up by around PKR 3,000/mt ($11/mt) as compared to previous offers. Offers for local scrap equivalent to shredded have remained at PKR 165,000-170,000/mt ($591-609/mt) ex-warehouse, the same as last week.
All prices on Pakistani rupee basis include 18 percent VAT.
$1 = PKR 279.25