India: SteelMint's benchmark scrap index remains almost stable

As the market fluctuated in the range of +/- 200-300 INR/t, SteelMint's scrap index remained almost constant throughout the day, while end-user demand for steel remained muted.

The domestic steel scrap (end-cutting) index slightly improved by INR 200/tonne (t) to INR 45,700/t DAP Mandi Gobindgarh on 26 August, 2022.

Because buyers and sellers couldn't get accurate market predictions, they had no choice but to wait and watch.

Indian mills booked around 500,000 t of bulk scrap since June of which 60,000 t arrived at Chennai port and 25,000 t at Kandla port. The arrival of bulk steel scrap at Indian ports is expected to keep ferrous scrap prices under pressure, SteelMint learnt from sources.

Demand for finished steel in Jalna resulted in steel manufacturers closing and taking on further orders. Moreover, scrap enquiry also improved.

Market highlights:

End-cutting and ingot spread: In Mandi, the end-cutting scrap and ingot spread remained unchanged today at INR 5,800-6,000/t.

Domestic and imported scrap price gap: In yesterday's trading session, imported HMS 1&2 (80:20) was traded at a range of $460-470/t (INR 36,750-37,500) CNF Nhava Sheva. Including freight the cost comes to INR 38,900-39,700/t ex-works. Since domestic scrap is about INR 3,000-3,500/t higher, Mumbai-based mills and those in the nearby regions are prefering to buy imported scrap.

Raipur sponge iron-billet spread: The current conversion spread (margins) from pellet-based DRI (P-DRI) to steel billet in Raipur stands at around INR 14,100/t.

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