India: BigMint's scrap index rises by INR 200/t d-o-d -20 Sept'24

• Mills continue to procure domestic steel scrap, sponge iron
  
  
• Trade inquiries improve in the finished steel market
  
  

BigMint's domestic end-cutting scrap index tracking the Mandi Gobindgarh market inched up by INR 200/tonne (t) to INR 36,000/t DAP today. Mills are continuing to procure domestic steel scrap along with sponge iron, as imported scrap offers remain unfeasible for Mandi mills.

According to a mill owner, the first half of the trading session was relatively quiet, but spot buying activity picked up in the second half. This led to a slight improvement in prices for both semi-finished and finished steels.

In the near term, the market appears to be range-bound as trading activity has picked up over the last 2-3 days. Ingot prices are currently fluctuating within the INR 41,000/t-41,500/t range.

Raw materials' overview

Sponge iron (CDRI) prices rose by INR 200/t to INR 30,200/t DAP in Mandi, fuelled by decent demand. Meanwhile, pig iron (steel grade) prices in Ludhiana dropped by INR 50/t to INR 38,000/t DAP.

Steel market

In the Mandi region, steel ingot prices inched up by INR 100/t to INR 41,300/t during the price reporting and normalisation phase. On the other hand, prices in other key markets increased by INR 50/t to INR 300/t. But the most notable improvement was seen in the Ahmedabad steel market as semis prices increased by INR 300/t d-o-d.

Rebar (Fe500) prices in Mandi increased by INR 100/t to INR 45,800/t exw, driven by a rise in trading activity.

Overview of Alang market

HMS (80:20) scrap prices in Alang, Gujarat, remained unchanged at INR 33,100/t ex-yard on 20 September according to BigMint. Despite an uptick in semi-finished steel prices in the region, scrap buying activity by Bhavnagar-based mills remained moderate, keeping prices stable.

Price highlights

End-cutting-billets spread: In Mandi, the end-cutting scrap and billet spread was at INR 5,300/t.

Domestic vs imported scrap: Imported melting scrap prices at the Nhava Sheva Port were at $365-$370/t, which equates to approximately INR 33,100/t (including freight). Local scrap HMS (80:20) prices in Mumbai remained stable at INR 32,500/t DAP. In India, indicative prices of shredded scrap from Europe stood around $385-$390/t CFR Nhava Sheva.

Raipur sponge iron-billet spread: The current conversion spread (margin) from pellet-based DRI (P-DRI) to steel billets in Raipur stood at INR 12,650/t.

To see BigMint's melting scrap assessment, pricing methodology and specification documents, Click here

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