India: SteelMint's billet index inches down by INR 100/t as trade volumes drop - 15 Apr

SteelMint's daily steel billet index edged down by INR 100/t d-o-d to INR 45,950/t on 15 April, 2023.

The drop in the index was due to decreasing bids and limited bookings. Demand in the semi-finished and finished long steel markets remained moderate. In addition, the market was slow in north India, which further contributed to the decline in prices.

Buyers were reluctant to book at higher prices due to the fluctuating trends. As a result, spot trade volumes fell from 4,050 t on 14 April to 1,700 t on 15 April.

SteelMint's daily price assessment for rebars continued to remain stable today, whereas wire rod prices decreased by INR 100/t. Sponge iron prices dropped marginally by INR 50/t d-o-d.

The conversion spread of the standalone furnaces in Raipur from sponge iron (PDRI) to billets inched lower by INR 50/t to INR 16,200/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 46,500-46,700/t were recorded during the 11:30 am to 3:30 pm SteelMint trading window and considered for final price calculation as T1 inputs. The average of these transactions was INR 46,600/t which is given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  
• Other Price Indicators - bids/offers/indicative (T2) - Nine offers reported in the trading window and considered as T2 inputs. The average price of these nine was INR 46,608/t and given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  

The final price for billet exw Raipur was at INR 46,604/t, rounded to INR 46,600/t exw.

Click for detailed methodology

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