India: BigMint's billet index falls marginally amid lacklustre demand - 7 Jan

• Slow demand weighs on offers
  
  
• Finished steel offers remain firm d-o-d
  
  

BigMint's billet index fell slightly by INR 50/tonne (t) d-o-d to INR 39,250/t exw-Raipur on 7 January 2025, as weak demand weighed on spot offers.

The index witnessed a slight decline today as volatile and unsupportive market sentiments kept buying activity subdued in the semi-finished segment. Meanwhile, the finished steel segment remained firm, supported by a few bookings at stable offers, which provided some resilience amid broader market uncertainty.

In the finished steel segment, rebar and wire rod prices remained firm, with some deals reported. Furthermore, sponge iron prices in Raipur edged down by INR 50/t today.

The conversion spread from sponge iron (PDRI) to billets for the standalone furnaces in the region was recorded at INR 14,800/t.

Rationale

This index has been derived based on transactions, offers, bids and indicative price data sets. Transactions are considered as T1 and given a weightage of 50%, whereas other data sets are considered as T2 and given a weightage of the balance 50%.

• Transactions (T1) - Three trades at INR 39,200-39,300/t was recorded during the 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm BigMint trading window and considered for final price calculation as T1 inputs. The average of these transactions was INR 39,271/t, which was given 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  
• Other price indicators - bids/offers/indicatives (T2) - Nine offers were reported in the trading window and considered as T2 inputs. The average price of these nine was INR 39,275/t and given 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  

The final price of billets exw-Raipur was INR 39,273/t, rounded off to INR 39,250/t exw.

Click here for detailed methodology