India: SteelMint's billet index drops on subdued demand - 15 Mar

SteelMint's billet index decreased by INR 350/t to INR 46,050/tonne (t) exw-Raipur on 15 March, 2023.

Weak demand for semis and finished long steel was observed in the market today. Prices in the northern region dipped further impacting billet prices in central India.

Transactions of around 2,430 t were recorded today in Raipur as against 2,800 t reported on 14 March.

SteelMint's daily price assessment for wire rods and sponge iron decreased by INR 400/t, while rebar prices fell by INR 200/t d-o-d.

Only 550 t of wire rod deals were recorded today against 2,500 t yesterday, while 2,000 t of rebar deals were recorded in Raipur today against 4,400 t yesterday.

The conversion spread of the standalone furnaces in Raipur from sponge iron (PDRI) to billets improved slightly by INR 50/t 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 46,000-46,200/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 46,056/t which is given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  
• Other Price Indicators - bids/offers/indicative (T2) - Twelve offers reported in the trading window and considered as T2 inputs. The average price of these twelve was INR 46,088/t and given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  

The final price for billet exw Raipur was at INR 46,070/t, rounded to INR 46,050/t exw.

Click for detailed methodology

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