South India: Steel prices rise w-o-w on active buying, faster finished steel movement

Sponge iron PDRI (FeM 80%) prices in Bellary were assessed by SteelMint at INR 30,800/tonne (t) exw (+INR 700/t), and CDRI at INR 31,750/t exw (+INR 550/t) w-o-w. Total sponge iron trade volumes concluded this week (PDRI and CDRI combined) was 39,200 t.

The price of raw materials surged significantly across India as a result of spot buying and rising demand for sponge iron from the western and southern regions.

Market highlights

• Volatility in billet prices across markets encouraged sellers to maintain competitive pricing to meet demand. In Hyderabad, billet prices rose as a result of high spot market demand.
  
  
• In the finished long steel segment, current quotes for rebar rose by INR 1,000/t w-o-w to INR 51,000-51,500/t exw (12-25mm, IF route, Fe 500, IS 1786)
  
  
• Currently, raw pellets (Fe 63%) are being traded in the range of INR 8,400-8,800/t exw in Karnataka.
  
  
• Non-coking coal RB3 (4800 NAR, South African origin) was sold at around INR 12,800-13,000/t. The current price at Mangalore port is INR 13,300-13,500/t.
  
  
• The movement of finished steel is still slow in Tamil Nadu and, as a result, the price trend of raw materials has been rangebound. A few hot charging mills have cut down their rolling capacity. Further, a few imported bulk scrap vessels have arrived last week and so it is expected that there would not be any dearth of raw materials in the short term.