Nepal active in Indian billets, sponge iron bookings, over 15,000 t deals concluded

Nepal buyers remained active in importing billets and sponge iron from India to build up the raw materials stock.

• About 5,000 t of IF-route billet export deals from India were concluded this week to Nepal. The average price of these deals stood at around $570-580/t exw-Durgapur, equivalent to $595-605/t CPT Nepal. Offers rose by $25/t, w-o-w, as per SteelMint's assessment.
  
  
• Also, around 12,000-13,000 t export deals of Indian sponge iron (ranging from FeM 79-80%, lumps 70%, and fines 30%) were concluded at a price range of $400-410/t loaded to wagon, eastern India, equivalent to $420-430/t, CPT Nepal (Raxaul).
  
  
• Offers of BF-route billets (produced through the primary plants) remained firm at $640-645/t CPT Nepal. However, BF-route wire rod mills have retreated from offering to Nepal due to lesser realisation after the imposition of export duty.
  
  
• Offers of IF-route (commercial grade) wire rods, size 5.5 mm, stood at around $750-755/t exw-Durgapur, equivalent to $775-780/t CPT Nepal including export duty of 15%. Prices rose by $30/t, w-o-w.
  
  

Nepal's rebar prices down by $32/t

Domestic rebar prices in Nepal dropped further due to seasonally weak demand and liquidity crunch after the budget announcement and political uncertainty.

• Fresh offers of 12mm rebars stand at NPR 91,000/t ($729/t) on an ex-work basis, excluding VAT. Offers fell by NPR 4,000/t ($32/t) w-o-w.
  
  

Prices are expected to soften further due to the sluggish trends and sufficient stock with mills. Seasonal slowdown in construction activities may weigh on prices in the coming days, sources-based in Nepal told SteelMint.