TDC Ventures

Daily Market Note — 2026-09-11

4 min read

Daily Market Note — 2026-09-11

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

The read

Pakistan’s imported shredded market held its recently established range through a second session, while oil pushed further above $100 a barrel and Gulf shipping risk widened to a second corridor.

No fresh Pakistan shredded transaction was publicly verified today, so the market continues to be read off the two UK-origin cargoes reported earlier this week — a larger parcel around 3,000 MT at $420/MT CFR and a smaller 200 MT parcel at $417/MT CFR, both Port Qasim, with current offers running $415–420/MT CFR. Separately, Brent crude traded near $106/bbl, over 10% higher on the week and the largest weekly oil gain reported since mid-July, while vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell further and Houthi forces were reported to have seized Yemen’s port of Mocha — extending shipping risk toward the Bab el-Mandeb corridor as well.

Key moves

  • Pakistan imported shredded — no new print; working range remains $417–420/MT CFR Port Qasim on the two trades reported this week.
  • Fastmarkets’ Pakistan shredded index moves from twice-weekly to weekly (Friday) publication from today — the first weekly print was not yet available at the time of writing.
  • India — the domestic ferrous-scrap index rose day-on-day as steel prices strengthened; Chennai scrap firmed on a reported supply shortage; Alang melting-scrap prices also rose on stronger steel-market sentiment.
  • Turkey — scrap prices were described as positioned to rise as a stronger local steel market widens the scrap-to-rebar spread; regional HMS 80:20 indications held near $380–381/MT CFR.
  • Japan — the benchmark Kanto ferrous-scrap tender eased modestly month-on-month, limiting urgency to chase Far East supply.

Freight and shipping

Oil extended its advance and a second Gulf shipping corridor came under pressure.

  • Strait of Hormuz: commodity-vessel transits fell to a reported seven, against a recent ten-day average of fifteen. Brent traded near $106/bbl, WTI near $101/bbl, both over 10% higher on the week.
  • Bab el-Mandeb / Red Sea: Houthi forces were reported to have seized the Yemeni port of Mocha, a new escalation for the corridor; vessel traffic there held close to its own recent average for now.
  • Destination operations: Port Qasim’s published shipping programme showed continued container, LNG, and LPG vessel activity with no reported cancellations; a Qatar-linked LNG cargo reached the port, the first such delivery reported since late July.
  • Carrier surcharges, unchanged and in force: Middle East → Pakistan surcharges remain $2,050 per 20ft and $3,500 per 40ft/40HC/45HC. Far East Asia → Pakistan remains $1,000 per 20ft, $1,500 per 40ft/45ft, confirmed rising to $2,000 per 40ft/45ft from 15 September (South Korea from 18 September); not applicable to spot bookings.
  • Inland: Pakistan raised retail petrol and diesel prices for a fourth consecutive period, a modest additional cost pressure on inland haulage to port.

Supplier markets

A temporary UAE restriction on ferrous, copper, and aluminium scrap exports remains scheduled through 8 October, with possible exemptions for pre-existing contracts. On the EU side, the European Commission’s process confirming which non-OECD countries may keep receiving specified non-hazardous waste streams remains on track for a first published list by 21 November 2026, ahead of a broader restriction taking effect 21 May 2027; the EU’s separate ban on e-waste exports to non-OECD countries has been in force since 1 January 2025. A wider proposed restriction on waste exports, reported to include aluminium scrap, remains under consultation and is not current law.

Non-ferrous snapshot

Latest official LME cash-settlement and three-month reference levels (10 September):

  • Copper — cash $14,390/t, three-month $14,371/t; cash eased from the prior session.
  • Zinc — cash $4,105/t, three-month $3,962/t, a $143/t cash premium over three-month.
  • Aluminium — cash $3,343/t, three-month $3,318/t.
  • Nickel — cash $16,630/t, three-month $16,760/t (three-month trades above cash — a contango).
  • Lead — cash $1,870.50/t, three-month $1,902.50/t.

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 — processed scrap of consistent size and density, the main containerised grade into Pakistan.
  • HMS 1&2 80:20 — heavy melting scrap in a standard 80:20 grade mix, the benchmark bulk ferrous grade.
  • PSS / ECS — peak season surcharge / emergency contingency surcharge, temporary carrier charges added to base ocean freight, quoted per container.
  • Cash vs three-month (LME) — cash is the price for immediate delivery; three-month is the standard forward reference. When cash trades above three-month (“backwardation”), it usually signals tight near-term supply; the reverse (“contango”) usually signals ample near-term supply.
  • Non-OECD waste-shipment rules — EU regulations governing which countries outside the OECD may receive specified waste exports, including scrap metal, from EU member states.

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