India: Sponge iron prices fall on lower buying enquiries - 17 Jan

Indian sponge iron prices decreased by INR 200-550/t in key locations. Prices fell as participants waited for clearer market directions before taking positions, resulting in lower spot trades and a drop in offers. The ongoing price volatility has made market participants wary, resulting in lower enquiries.

About 11,600 t of sponge iron transactions were recorded today in India as against 15,270 t on 16 January.

Snapshots of key markets

• Rourkela: Prices fell on limited trades reported today. There was lack of buying interest through participants as they were occupied in the OMC's auction, thus spot trades remained low. Buying interest in the semi-finished steel market also remained dull today. Thus, spot buying interest totally hinges on the requirements of market participants.
  
  
• Raipur: Limited offers and moderate trading activity observed in the market at lower prices. Moderate trading activities were observed in Raipur market today at lower prices. The market price decreased significantly by INR 400/t today with fewer offers at lower prices. Moreover, very less trading was observed in the market. Slow movement in northern region market has also contributed towards lower price offers in Raipur.
  
  
• Bellary: Slower market opening reduced demand for sponge iron, which led to poor buying interest and slow demand d-o-d. Poor movement of finished steel also stands out as the major reason for limited buying today.
  
  
• Durgapur: Spot prices reduced today as soft demand was observed in first half but improved a little in second half of the day. Trades were moderate as many sellers are waiting for OMC's auction results and expecting to raise offers on account of that. Prices fell by INR 550/t d-o-d.
  
  
• Ramgarh: Market remained silent throughout the day with below average trading activities.
  
  

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%.

Click for detailed methodology

T1 - Trade, T2 - Offer/Bid/Indicative