Nepal: Rebar prices fall $17-25/t, billet import offers drop

Nepal's domestic rebar prices fell further by NPR 2,000-3,000/tonne(t) ($17-25/t), w-o-w, due to seasonal weak demand along with the steel mills improving their capacity utilisation by 10%-20% to 50%-70%.

Fresh offers for rebar floated by mid-sized plants are reported at NPR 85,000-86,000/t ($716-725/t), while those from the major mills that produce premium brands are at NPR 88,000/t ($741/t). The prices are for material of 10-16 mm and on ex-works basis, excluding VAT and ED.

Further, mills are expecting rebar prices to remain under pressure as monsoon begins in the country, which halts major construction activities. Further, the lockdown, which will continue till 21 Jun'21, has aggravated matters.

IF-grade billet import offers drop

As per SteelMint's assessment, induction furnace (IF)-grade billet import offers to Nepal have dropped by $20/t, w-o-w. Prices are currently hovering at $565/t, exw-eastern India, equivalent to $590-595/t, CPT Nepal, via road delivery.

Meanwhile, prices of BF-grade billets remained firm with fresh deal for a rake at around $640-645/t, CPT Nepal. Demand for BF-grade billets continues to remain active as around over 15,000 t deals were concluded till date in Jun'21 .

Patra imports remain active

Sources confirmed that, in a fresh deal, about 2,500 t of Patra (strips) from a Raipur, central India-based mill was loaded to rake, at around $700/t equivalent to $725-730/t CPT Nepal.

The Nepal mills are more inclined towards Patra rather than HRCs due to the latter's high premium of around $250/t as proven by the fresh offers of HRCs at around $980/t CPT Nepal.