India: SteelMint's PELLEX falls INR 200/t in recent deal

SteelMint's bi-weekly domestic pellet (Fe 63%) index, PELLEX, dropped INR 200/t to INR 9,600/tonne (t) DAP Raipur on 27 October, 2023 compared to the last assessment on 23 October. Two deals of 10,000 t (Fe62/62.5%) were recorded at INR 9,100-9,200/t DAP Raipur in this publishing window. The index dropped as pellet producers in other regions offered raw pellets to Raipur's sponge iron producers at competitive prices.

The pellet market remained sluggish post Dussehra, as no major deal was concluded in this publishing window. However, a few buyers bought raw pellets from other regions at cheaper prices.

According to a source, "The market is likely to remain stable until Diwali. The Assembly elections will also impact the market, and we will not see any bulk deals during this time."

Rationale:

• PELLEX has been derived using data points, i.e., trades, offers, and bids. To download the detailed methodology Click here.
  
  
• Two (2) deals were reported so far this week and one was taken into account for price calculation and accorded 50% weightage for T1 trade.
  
  
• Twelve (12) firm offers, bids, and indicative prices were heard. eight (8) were taken for price calculation and given the balance 50% weightage.
  
  

Factors affecting prices

• Pellet offers stable: GPIL kept pellet (Fe63.5% and Fe66%) offers stable at INR 10,000/t ($120/t) and INR 12,000/t ($144/t) exw-Raipur. Other pellet makers' offers also remained stable at INR 9,600-9,700/t ($116-117/t) exw-Raipur.
  
  
• PDRI prices edge up w-o-w: SteelMint's price assessment for sponge PDRI (FeM 80%) in Raipur inched up by INR 100/t w-o-w to INR 28,050/t exw on 27 October. However, prices increased by INR 400/t d-o-d today.
  
  
• Billet prices rise in Raipur: Billet prices in Raipur increased by INR 550/t w-o-w to INR 42,200/t exw on 27 October. Prices improved by INR 350/t d-o-d. This increase might be linked to a positive trend in north India, which increased market activity. However, buying interest at higher price levels was tepid because of a flurry of deals over the last several days.