India: SteelMint's scrap index falls by INR 300/t tracking drop in semis' prices

SteelMint's domestic steel scrap (end-cutting) index decreased by INR 300/tonne (t) to INR 44,300/t DAP Mandi Gobindgarh on 29 December, 2022. Today, steel ingots prices in Mandi saw a marginal correction of INR 300/t d-o-d to INR 49,300/t at the time of reporting and price normalisation.

Trading in semi-finished and finished steel remained limited with only need-based purchases taking place. Also, liquidity issues persisted in the market, slowing down buying activity.

"There is a low demand for finished steel and inventories are continuously increasing, which is creating selling pressure and resulting in downward correction in prices," sources informed.

Apart from this, today in north India people were celebrating Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti, due to this major participants were absent from the market.

Snapshots of other markets

Alang: In Gujarat's Alang market, ship-breaking melting scrap prices remained stable today, as per SteelMint's assessment. HMS (80:20) prices are assessed at INR 38,600/t exy. Moderate trades were observed in semi-finished and finished steel during the last trading session, and active buying enquiries for scrap in the region prompted suppliers to keep their offers stable today.

Hyderabad: Today, semis' prices in southern India's Hyderabad market moved down by INR 500/t to INR 47,500/t, while rebars prices remained stable at INR 52,500/t. On the other hand, HMS 80:20 prices edged down by INR 100/t to INR 36,000/t DAP.

Price highlights

End-cutting and billets spread: In Mandi, the end-cutting scrap and billets spread was at around INR 5,000-5,200/t.

Domestic and imported scrap price gap: Imported melting scrap prices at Nhava Sheva Port were at around $419-425/t (including freight, it comes to approximately INR 37,400/t), while local scrap - HMS (80:20) - prices in Mumbai were assessed at INR 38,000/t.

Raipur sponge iron-billet spread: The current conversion spread (margin) from pellets-based DRI (P-DRI) to steel billets in Raipur stands at around INR 14,150/t.

To see SteelMint's Melting Scrap Assessment, pricing methodology and specification documents, Click here

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