India: SteelMint's billet index drops further amid an improved trade- 31 May

SteelMint's billet index edged down by INR 150/tonne (t) on May 31, 2023 to INR 43,100/t exw-Raipur.

Billet index slipped on downward sentiments from the semi-finished segment across the country. However, buyers received lower offers from sellers today due to market weakness. This led to a slight improvement in transaction volume d-o-d.

According to market sources, demand for finished steels is anticipated to be slow because of the persistently negative global sentiment.

Around 2,790 t of deals were recorded today in Raipur as against 1,260 t on 30 May.

SteelMint's daily price assessments of rebars dropped by INR 200/t today, while wire rod prices decreased by INR 300/t. Meanwhile, Raipur sponge iron prices fell by INR 50/t.

Around 1,300 t of wire rod deals were recorded in Raipur today.

The conversion spread from sponge iron (PDRI) to billets for the standalone furnaces in the region was recorded at INR 15,350/t.

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%.

• Transactions (T1) - Four trades at INR 43,000-43,100/t were recorded during the 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm SteelMint trading window and considered for final price calculation as T1 inputs. The average of these transactions was INR 43,091/t which is given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  
• Other Price Indicators - bids/offers/indicative (T2) - Six offers reported in the trading window and considered as T2 inputs. The average price of these six was INR 43,100/t and given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  

The final price for billet exw Raipur was at INR 43,096/t, rounded to INR 43,100/t exw.

Click for detailed methodology

T1 - Trade, T2 - Offer/Bid/Indicative, *Normalized price as per methodology