India: SteelMint's billet index drops INR 400/t amid subdued demand - 20 Feb

SteelMint's billet index fell by INR 400/t to INR 46,500/tonne (t) exw-Raipur on 20 February, 2023.

The index declined on limited trades at lower price levels. Demand for semis and finished long steel remained subdued. Prices in north India showed a decreasing trend which impacted the market.

Transactions of around 1,450 t were recorded today in Raipur as against 1,000 t on 18 February.

SteelMint's daily price assessment for wire rods fell by INR 500/t, while rebar prices dropped INR 300/t d-o-d. Meanwhile, sponge iron prices edged down by INR 200/t.

The conversion spread of the standalone furnaces in Raipur from sponge iron (PDRI) to billets decreased by INR 200/t d-o-d to INR 14,550/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 46,400-46,800/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 46,444/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 46,550/t and given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  

The final price for billet exw Raipur was at INR 46,497/t, rounded to INR 46,500/t exw.

Click for detailed methodology

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