India: BF-rebar trade prices drop w-o-w amid slow demand during festive season

Trade-level prices of blast furnace (BF) route rebars fell w-o-w across major markets owing to slow domestic demand amid Diwali festive season which weighed on the market sentiments. Current rebar prices in the trade segment fell by INR 400/t ($5/t) w-o-w to INR 56,000/t ($672/t), exy-Mumbai, as per SteelMint's assessment on 10 November 2023. Prices are excluding GST at 18%.

In the projects segment, prices are currently hovering around INR 55,000-55,500/t ($660-666/t) FOR Mumbai basis. Buying activities remained dull amid limited labour availability during the festive season.

Factors weighing on prices:

1. IF -rebar prices drop w-o-w: Induction furnace (IF) route rebar trade prices dropped by INR 800/t ($10/t) w-o-w to INR 48,900/t ($587/t) exw-Mumbai. Market witnessed limited trade activities during the week owing to festive season. Currently, rebar prices are hovering at INR 49,000/t ($588/t) exw Mumbai as on 10 November 2023.

The monthly average gap between BF-IF rebars widened to around INR 7,000/t ($84/t) this month in the key market of Mumbai. This came with sharp fall in IF-rebar prices, which fell by INR 1,200/t ($14/t) m-o-m in October, meanwhile BF-rebar trade prices rose by INR 700/t ($8/t) on the month during the same period.

2. Prices of raw materials range-bound: Prices of key steel-making raw materials largely remained range-bound w-o-w. SteelMint's weekly Odisha iron ore fines Fe62% index rose marginally w-o-w by INR 150/t ($2/t) to INR 4,850/t ($58/t) ex-mines, as on 4 November 2023. The index witnessed uptick amid mixed sentiments, as miners have limited inventory of high-grade iron ore fines.

Australian premium hard coking coal (PHCC) prices edged up by $4/t w-o-w to $366/t CNF Paradip as against $362/t CNF in the week ago period. However, spot availability has eased over the past few days.

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