India: SteelMint's billet index drops in volatile market - 31 Jan

SteelMint's billet index declined by INR 150/tonne (t) d-o-d to INR 47,100/t exw-Raipur on 31 January, 2023.

Billet prices declined on lower offers floated, although buying remained strong. Marginal improvement in finished steel order bookings was observed at lower prices. In north India the market was slow which impacted prices across the country.

Transactions of 3,400 t of billets were recorded today in Raipur as against 1,700 t on 30 January.

SteelMint's daily price assessments for wire rod and rebar have shown a maximum decrease of INR 200/t , while sponge iron prices decreased by INR 50/t.

1,600 t of wire rod deals were recorded today against 1,600 t yesterday, while 1,400 t of trade in rebar were recorded against 1,100 t on 30 January.

The conversion spread of the standalone furnaces in Raipur from sponge iron (PDRI) to billets decreased further by INR 100/t to INR 15,050/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) - Three trades at INR 47,000-47,100/t was 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 47,059/t which is given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  
  
• Other Price Indicators - bids/offers/indicative (T2) - Eight offers reported in the trading window and considered as T2 inputs. The average price of these eight was INR 47,138/t and given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  

The final price for billet exw Raipur was at INR 47,099/t, rounded to INR 47,100/t exw.

Click for detailed methodology

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