Posted on 04 Jul 2022
Supply shortages resulting from the recent bulk deals in the Indian subcontinent and upcoming Eid holidays, have seen Pakistani scrap import offers surge. This has created panic among buyers who have accelerated bookings, as they fear offers will rise further, Kallanish notes.
Early last week, offers for UK- and EU-origin shredded scrap surged to $435-440/tonne cfr Port Qasim. They then grew to $445/t cfr Port Qasim in mid-week. Offers on Thursday and Friday were noted at $450-455/t cfr Port Qasim.
Pakistan-based mills booked around 2,000-3,000 tonnes of UK-origin shredded scrap at $440-445/t cfr, from Monday through Thursday, whereas around 1,000t of EU-origin shredded scrap was booked at $455/t on Friday.
“Usually each Monday, mills prefer to observe the market … which is why we didn’t see much buying activities on Monday and many of them were mulling a price drop from Tuesday onwards,” says a trading source. “From Tuesday onwards, against mills’ predictions, the market started surging and created a panic among buyers, and a majority of them started booking before prices surged further.”
Likewise, offers for United Arab Emirates-origin HMS1 surged dramatically on-week to $505-510/t cfr Qasim. Following a deal for 4,000t at $475/t cfr Qasim late the prior week, Pakistan-based mills reportedly booked around 5,000t of UAE-origin HMS1 at $500/t cfr Port Qasim last week.
“There is a good demand for imported scrap in Pakistan now but we are seeing a supply shortage from the sellers’ side,” says another source. “I am seeing there is a supply issue in Dubai mainly because of the upcoming Eid holidays; whereas, on the other hand, buyers need the material on an immediate delivery basis. This high demand is supporting shredded as well as HMS offers in the nation.”
Meanwhile, offers for ship scrap from containers are noted at $590/light displacement tonne (ldt). Scrap from dry bulkers and tankers is hovering at $570/ldt and $580/ldt, respectively.
Source:Kallanish
