SteelMint | Morning Brief

Iron ore & pellets -

• JSW Steel- India's leading private steelmaker recorded merchant iron ore sourcing at 19.43 mn t in FY '21. The sourcing witnessed a drop by 19% as against 24 mn t in FY '20. The company has ramped up its captive iron ore production from its mines in Odisha and Karnataka in FY '21, thereby lowering merchant sourcing.
  
  
• Major Iranian steel mills produced a total of 46 mn t pellets during the last Persian FY '21, recording a 10% y-o-y growth. Golgohar emerged as the largest pellet producer with 12.24 mn t.
  
  

Coal -

• South African RB2 (5500 NAR) coal portside prices remained unchanged at INR 6,550/t ex-Gangavaram. In the coming days, demand is anticipated to remain muted in view of the suspension of operations at various steel plants due to oxygen shortage.
  
  

Scrap & Metallics -

• SteelMint's benchmark sponge iron (P-DRI) prices dropped by INR 200/t to INR 28,800/t ($385), exw Raipur, Central India. Demand remained poor due to decline in production by the furnaces & hot rolling mills.
  
  
• An Indian mill had floated an export tender for 30,000 t pig iron which was due on 21 Apr '21 for material delivery by 10 Jun '21. The offer validity of the bids was till 27 Apr '21. If market sources are to be believed, the company has cancelled the tender due to the disparity between price expectations & bids received. It is reported that they have re-issued the tender for a similar quantity and due date of 03 May '21.
  
  
• SteelMint's domestic steel scrap index has moved up to INR 37,400/t DAP Mandi Gobindgarh. Limited scrap collection and supply disturbance from nearby states resulted in slight increase in prices.
  
  
• China's largest EAF steelmaker - Shagang Steel has hiked scrap purchase prices by RMB 50/t ($8) for all grades. The company is paying scrap, HMS (6-10 mm) at RMB 3,540/t ($545), inclusive of 13% VAT, delivered to headquarters. The price increase has been affected to not only secure more scrap supplies but also to counter the hike in imported scrap offers.
  
  
• Imported scrap prices in Vietnam are on an uptick supported by active billet inquiries. SteelMint assessment for Japanese H2 now stands at $475-480/t CFR basis, registering a sharp increase of $15 as against the beginning of last week.
  
  

Semi-finished steel-

• SteelMint's daily billet index has been assessed at INR 41,000/t (-500) exw Raipur on 26 Apr '21 at 18:00 IST. The index fell for the second consecutive day on account of weak demand from the rolling mills as demand & production both have dropped significantly due to lockdown, labour & oxygen shortage with plant.
  
  
• Khouzestan Steel Company (KSC), Iran's leading steel exporter, has floated an export tender for slab and billets (30,000 t each). The shipment is likely to be scheduled for June '21.
  
  

Finished steel -

• Indian mills have raised their HRC export offers sharply to Vietnam by around $20-25/t w-o-w in view of the bullish trends in global markets. A major private Indian steel mill is offering re-rolling grade HRC at $970/t CFR Vietnam for June shipments.
  
  
• An Indian state-owned mill had floated an export tender for 12,000 t wire rod coils (5.5-6.5mm) for spot sales on 20 Apr '21. The tender has since been concluded at around $710/t FoB India, credible sources have reported to SteelMint.
  
  

Ferro alloys -

• Baosteel, one of the largest producers of Stainless steel has sharply reduced its purchase price of HC ferrochrome in May '21 by 1,050 yuan/t m-o-m to RMB 7,495/t ($1,155/t) for HC 50% min, delivered including tax. This announcement came after TISCO decreased the prices by Yuan 1,050/t to 7,300 yuan/t.