Indian billet export shipments halves in Aug'20

India's billet/bloom export shipments in Aug'20 have witnessed an m-o-m decline of 50% on improving realization in the domestic market. According to the port data maintained with SteelMint, the country's export shipments for billets and blooms stood around 0.6 mn t. The same recorded at over 1 mn t in Jul'20.

China continues to remain the favorite destination for Indian billets- According to the port data maintained with SteelMint, approximately 50%; ~270,000 t, of the Indian billet/bloom shipments have landed in China during Aug'20. However, the exports to the country saw a sharp decline of 60%, m-o-m. During the period under consideration, China has seen preferably buying ASEAN-billets amid duty advantages. The Philippines (93,632 t) and Indonesia (39,540 t) stood as the second and third largest importer of the Indian billets, respectively.

JSPL, SAIL, RINL, and Tata accounted for over 75% of total billet exports, data shows.

Outlook: Indian billet export shipments are likely to fall in the coming month as the mills from the country have seen focusing on the domestic market on improving realizations due to a hike in raw material costs.

SteelMint's monthly average Raipur billet index for IF grade has increased by ~INR 2000/t (~$27/t) m-o-m to INR 29,903/t ($401/t) in Aug'20.

On the other hand, SteelMint's assessment for Indian billet export increased by $19 m-o-m in Aug'20, to reach $408/t, FoB India.