India: SteelMint's billet index records marginal decline of INR 50/t amid improved buying - 27 July

SteelMint's billet index fell marginally by INR 50/tonne (t) to INR 40,250/t exw-Raipur on 27 July, 2023. The index remained relatively constant as trading activity increased, allowing offers to remain stable d-o-d.

Spot buying activity in semi-finished steels surged today due to increased enquiries, with participants anticipating that prices may rise due to less availability of raw materials in the coming days due to monsoon.

Transactions for 4,600 t were registered on Thursday, compared to 2,900 t on 26 July.

Finished steel prices fell marginally due to mild buying activity throughout the day. Rebar prices fell by INR 100/t d-o-d, while wire rod prices fell by INR 100/t. Sponge iron prices stayed stable.

Around 1,200 t of wire rod and 2,100 t of rebar deals were concluded in the region.

PDRI to billets conversion spread

The conversion spread from sponge iron (PDRI) to billets of the standalone furnaces in Raipur was recorded at INR 13,850/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 40,100-40,400/t were 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 40,268/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 40,243/t and given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  

The final price for billet exw Raipur was at INR 40,253/t, rounded to INR 40,250/t exw.

Click for detailed methodology

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