India: SteelMint's billet index drops INR 100/t on subdued demand - 20 Mar

SteelMint's billet index decreased by INR 100/t d-o-d to INR 45,800/tonne (t) exw-Raipur on 20 March, 2023.

The index slipped amid decline in bids and limited bookings. Demand in the semi-finished and finished long steel markets remained moderate. In north India, the market was slow which further weighed on prices. Buyers were reluctant to buy at higher prices due to rampant fluctuations.

Transactions of around 1,020 t were recorded today in Raipur as against 600 t on 18 March.

SteelMint's daily price assessment for rebar remains unchanged, while wire rod prices fell by INR 200/t d-o-d. Sponge iron prices dropped INR 300/t d-o-d.

Around 650 t of wire rod and 700 t of rebar deals were recorded in Raipur today.

The conversion spread of the standalone furnaces in Raipur from sponge iron (PDRI) to billets improved by INR 200/t to INR 14,900/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) - Five trades at INR 45,700-46,000/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 45,788/t which is given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  
• Other Price Indicators - bids/offers/indicative (T2) - Seven offers reported in the trading window and considered as T2 inputs. The average price of these seven was INR 45,800/t and given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  

The final price for billet exw Raipur was at INR 45,794/t, rounded to INR 45,800/t exw.

Click for detailed methodology

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