TDC Ventures

Daily Market Note — 2026-09-30

3 min read

Daily Market Note — 2026-09-30

Market commentary on the global ferrous scrap trade. Not trading advice.

The read

Pakistan’s imported shredded market is unchanged for a fifth session: the freshest verified physical evidence sits near $417/MT CFR Port Qasim, inside a recent $416–420/MT range, while UK and EU supplier offers hold at $420–425/MT. The energy backdrop turned slightly less friendly: oil rose after the U.S. President rejected easing Iran sanctions, partly reversing the previous day’s softer tone. Pakistani inland fuel costs, by contrast, fell again.

No newer public Pakistan shredded trade was verified. BigMint has dated a 29 September Europe-origin containerised shredded assessment for Port Qasim, but its value sits behind a paywall; Fastmarkets’ next weekly index is due Friday 2 October.

Key moves

  • Pakistan imported shredded — physical range $416–420/MT CFR; UK and EU offers $420–425/MT, a gap of roughly $3–8/MT. $420/MT is the level buyers would need to confirm before higher offers look credible.
  • Domestic Pakistan sentiment — BigMint’s 29 September Punjab shredded entry reads Moderate.
  • Oil — crude rose on 30 September after the sanctions comments; the Iran situation remains the main source of uncertainty.
  • Currency and fuel — the Pakistani rupee’s latest completed interbank close was about 277.12 per US dollar. Petrol stood at PKR 389.03 and diesel at PKR 404.97 per litre from 29 September, and a 30 September review is reported to cut them by a further PKR 1.49 and PKR 2.73 per litre, lowering inland trucking costs.

Freight and shipping

  • Charges: no carrier has announced lower war-risk or bunker charges; container freight into Pakistan is still quoted with base freight, bunker, war-risk, security and peak-season surcharges itemised separately.
  • Port Qasim: operational, with a container vessel at the Qasim International Container Terminal and two LPG carriers at the Engro Vopak terminal listed for 30 September arrivals.

Supplier markets

  • Offer levels: UK and EU shredded offers have held at $420–425/MT for five sessions; suppliers are looking to Turkiye, the U.S. and Canada as alternative origins.
  • UAE: Dubai’s temporary restriction on specified scrap exports remains active through 8 October 2026 unless changed or exempted.
  • EU: the consultation on the Commission’s draft non-OECD waste list stays open until 16 October 2026. Under the new rules, covered waste exports to non-OECD countries generally stop from 21 May 2027 unless authorised. This is a draft, not current law.

Non-ferrous snapshot

LME copper closed the latest session near $14,425/MT. Overnight, aluminium fell 1.17%, nickel fell 1.2%, lead fell 0.13% and zinc rose 0.29%. Copper’s modest pullback from recent highs leaves the complex firm but choppy, which keeps formula-based pricing tied to exact LME references important.

Glossary

  • CFR — cost and freight; the seller pays ocean freight to the destination port, the buyer carries insurance and transit risk.
  • Port Qasim — Pakistan’s main deep-water import terminal, near Karachi.
  • Shredded (ISRI 211) — processed scrap of consistent size and density, the main containerised grade into Pakistan.
  • PSS / war-risk surcharge — peak-season and security-related charges that container lines add to base freight.
  • HSD — high-speed diesel, the main fuel cost for inland trucking in Pakistan.
  • LME — London Metal Exchange, the benchmark venue for base-metal prices used in scrap pricing formulas.
  • Non-OECD waste-shipment rules — EU regulations governing which countries outside the OECD may receive specified waste exports, including scrap metal.

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