India: SAIL-BSP secondary steel auction receives positive response

Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) conducted an auction from its Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) for defective steel products on 13 September, 2023. The auction fetched a comparatively good response compared to previous secondary steel auctions by SAIL, mainly due to improved buying interest, sources said.

In the previous auction held on 7 August, out of 24,946 t of mix grade scrap, around 11,655 t were sold.

SAIL-BSP conducted the auction for a total of 17,017 tonnes (t) of defective steel products on 13 September and out of the total material around 10,073 t were sold, as approved by the management. The material auctioned is mixed in nature, comprising CC blooms, billets, plates, TMT bars, rails, CC slabs, wire rod cuttings and also steel scrap.

The auction received decent bids, backed by strong demand, especially for scrap. A scrap trader in Raipur informed that market sentiments remained moderate in the region.

Raipur billet index

Today, SteelMint's Raipur billet index increased by INR 100/tonne (t) reaching INR 45,000/t exw on positive trends in north India which boosted market activity. However, buying interest at higher price levels remained moderate because plenty of deals have already happened at lower offers. Weak demand in the finished steel segment made market participants wary about price fluctuations throughout the day.

Monthly average prices of Raipur billets

August-42,790/t
July-41,255/t
June-43,646/t
May-44,203/t

Scrap market

Raipur scrap market shows moderate trading activity, as per SteelMint assessment. End-cutting scrap prices stood at INR 40,400/t, while local scrap HMS (80:20) prices were assessed at INR 38,400/t.

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