India: BigMint's billet index rises further by INR 100/t d-o-d - 19 Dec

• Material squeeze pushes spot offers higher
  
  
• Finished steel prices remain stable d-o-d
  
  

BigMint's billet index increased further by INR 100/tonne (t) d-o-d to INR 39,600/t exw-Raipur on 19 December 2024.

The index experienced a slight upward movement today, primarily due to tight material availability in the spot market. This scarcity has sustained a steady increase in spot offerings over the past few days. Additionally, influences from neighbouring markets, particularly from the northern region, contributed to the upward momentum.

However, buyers displayed limited interest in procuring material at higher price levels. This hesitancy stems from weaker finished steel sales, which have not been supportive, coupled with liquidity constraints impacting market activity.

The conversion spread from sponge iron (PDRI) to billets of the standalone furnaces in the region was recorded at INR 14,550/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) - Two trades at INR 39,500-39,700/t were recorded between 2:30 pm and 5:30 pm during the BigMint trading window. These were considered for the final price calculation as T1 inputs. The average price of these transactions was INR 39,531/t, which was assigned a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  
• Other price indicators - bids/offers/indicatives (T2) - Twelve offers were reported during the trading window and considered as T2 inputs. The average price of these twelve offers was INR 39,700/t, which was assigned a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  

The final price of billets exw-Raipur was assessed to be INR 39,615/t, rounded off to INR 39,600/t exw.

Click here for detailed methodology