India: Sponge iron prices remain under pressure as steel prices drop - 6 Apr

Sponge iron prices dropped in the range of INR 50-100/t in some key locations today amid falling steel prices followed by lower buying activity in the market. However, prices in south India rose by INR 100/t as sellers refused to lower their offers.

A total of 10,100 t of transactions were recorded today as against 19,600 t on 5 April.

Reasons behind falling prices

• Selling pressure: As a result if selling pressure there was a steady decline in both offers and bids. Fewer enquiries were made as price adjustments triggered caution among market participants.
  
  
• Low spot trades: Due to the ongoing downturn in steel prices in north India, especially Punjab, prices kept dropping as spot transactions remained low. According to sources, erratic price changes have impacted spot trade volumes.
  
  

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