India: SteelMint's billet index drops on subdued demand for semis, finished - 18 Apr

SteelMint's billet index decreased by INR 100/t to INR 46,850/tonne (t) exw-Raipur on 18 April, 2023.

The index dropped amid falling bids and limited bookings. Demand in the semi-finished and finished long steel markets remained moderate. The market in north India was sluggish, which weighed on pricing. Due to the changing trends, buyers were hesitant to purchase at higher prices.

Transactions of around 2,310 t were recorded today in Raipur as against 6,340 t on 17 April.

SteelMint's daily price assessments for rebars fell by INR 200/t, while wire rods and sponge iron prices in Raipur remained unchanged d-o-d.

Around 1,100 t of wire rods and 1,800 t of rebars were traded in today's session.

The conversion spread from sponge iron (PDRI) to billets for the standalone furnaces in the region was recorded at INR 16,350/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) - Six trades at INR 46,800-47,000/t were recorded during the 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm SteelMint trading window and considered for final price calculation as T1 inputs. The average of these transactions was INR 46,840/t which is given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation. Apart from these one trade of INR 46,950/t recorded at 12:59 pm was excluded due to timing.
  
  
• 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 46,880/t and given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  

The final price for billet exw Raipur was at INR 46,860/t, rounded to INR 46,850/t exw.

Click for detailed methodology

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