India: Sponge iron prices continue to decline further - 9 Apr

• Sponge iron prices drop INR 100-400/t
  
  
• Market activities take a backseat amid festivities
  
  
• Spot trade volumes fall by 47% d-o-d
  
  

Sponge iron prices in India decreased within the range of INR 100-400/t d-o-d in major regions. This decline in prices has impacted sentiments which can be attributed to a continuous downfall in spot offers due to weak buying interest.

PDRI prices closed today at INR 27,000-29,000/t while CDRI prices were assessed at INR 28,000-33,100/t.

South African RB2 coal prices remained stable today. Non-coking coal (5500 NAR) prices stand at INR 9,400/t ($113/t) exw Gangavaram.

Buying activity in sponge iron market remained slow today as buyers had already placed sufficient orders last week, therefore no major buying activity was seen.

Another key reason behind limited buying was the festive lull in the market due to Gudi Parva, as major participants were inactive and this led to a decrease in spot trade volumes by 47%.

Only 5,400 t of sponge iron transactions were recorded in the country on Tuesday compared to 10,100 t on 8 April.

Rationale -

Prices have 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%.

Click for detailed methodology

T1 - Trade, T2 - Offer/Bid/Indicative