India: SteelMint's billet index remains firm on slow demand - 18 Dec

SteelMint's billet index continued to remain constant at INR 40,650/t exw-Raipur on 18 December, 2023.

Today, billet index was steady despite sellers' attempts to offer at higher levels in the initial half of the day. Buyers, on the other hand, expressed less interest towards booking material, anticipating the market may drop further as buying demand in the finished steel segment is not supportive.

About 1,000 t of billet deals were concluded today compared to 1,910 t on 16 December.

SteelMint's daily rebar price assessments were down by 100/t and 1900 t of transactions recorded. Wire rod prices have fallen by INR 200/t. While, Sponge iron prices in Raipur were also seen dropping by INR 150/t.

The conversion spread from sponge iron (PDRI) to billets of the standalone furnaces in Raipur was recorded at INR 13,200/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) - Two trades at INR 40,650-40,700/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 40,665/t which is given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  
• Other Price Indicators - bids/offers/indicative (T2) - Eleven offers reported in the trading window and considered as T2 inputs. The average price of these eleven was INR 40,683/t and given a 50% weightage in the final price calculation.
  
  

The final price for billet exw Raipur was at INR 40,674/t, rounded to INR 40,650/t exw.

Click for detailed methodology

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

2nd India Steel and Metal Conference: SteelMint, along with the Steel Users Federation of India, will be organizing the 2nd India Steel and Metal Conference: Supply Chain & Sourcing Strategies, over 10-11 January, 2024 in Mumbai. Several key sessions will explore the current challenges and enablers, both local and global. Experts will also try to read future trends. This is the only conference focusing on steel end-user industries and their issues. It will be followed by the SUFI Steel Awards, 2023. Register fast to avail of special offers.