SteelMint | Morning Brief

Iron ore & pellets-

• Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) conducted an auction yesterday for 28,000 t iron ore fines from its Rajhara mines in Chhattisgarh. They received bids for all the material offered at INR 4,600/t (Loaded, including Royalty, DMF and NMET) according to market sources reporting to SteelMint. The material put to auction was of grade ranging from Fe 60.3% and fetched INR 1,250/t above the last auction price, held on 26th March '21.
  
  
• Indian pellet export prices have rallied to all time high as per data maintained with SteelMint since 2012. SteelMint weekly pellet export index (FOB east coast India) for Fe 64% grade increased by $3.5/t w-o-w to $208/t as seen in a recent deal. A West Bengal-based pellet maker concluded a pellet (Fe 63% grade, 4% Al) export deal for around 50,000 t at $223-224/t CFR China. The deal has been concluded early this week and shipment is scheduled in mid-June '21.
  
  

Coal -

• In a confirmed deal, 6000 t RB2 grade coal has been traded at INR 6,840/t ex-Vizag, bringing the difference between Vizag and Gangavaram port prices to INR 450/t.
  
  

Scrap & Metallics-

• Benchmark sponge iron (P-DRI) prices dropped marginally by INR 100/t to INR 28,400/t ($381), exw Raipur, Central India. As per the plants, improvement in bids led to a slight change in offers today. Sufficient deals were reported on floated offers at INR 28,300-500/t on exw & FoR Raipur basis.
  
  
• SAIL conducted an auction yesterday for 5,700 t (2,850 t x 2 rakes) of basic grade pig iron from its Bokaro Steel Plant, Jharkhand. Buyers booked the entire quantity at INR 36,700/t exw, sources reported to SteelMint. Bids decreased by INR 400/t as compared to the previous auction conducted on 21 Apr.
  
  
• SteelMint's domestic steel scrap index increased to INR 37,700/t DAP Mandi Gobindgarh. Buyers raised their bids after considering semi-finished steel price movements.
  
  
• UK/EU origin shredded in containers is currently being offered at above $495-500/t CFR Chittagong levels, however, buyers have shown no interest at these levels. Imported scrap trades in containers are likely to slow down ahead of the upcoming Eid holidays.
  
  
• Japanese scrap suppliers have raised HRS 101 grade export offers to China by $5 w-o-w. It is now being offered at $525/t CFR China basis, SteelMint learnt from authentic sources.
  
  

Semi-finished steel-

• SteelMint's daily billet index was assessed at INR 40,900/t (+300) exw Raipur on 28th Apr '21at 18:00 IST. The index rebounded as demand from the local & outside (Jalna, Maharashtra) states improved on the back of falling inventories with the mills and increasing prices in Punjab.
  
  
• The Graphite electrodes (GE) prices in India that witnessed sharp downcycle over CY19 - H1 CY20 seems to be reversing now, in view of an increase in steel demand across many regions. The 450 mm HP grade electrode prices have moved up by 76% on a y-o-y basis and are currently trending at INR 225,000/t ($3,020/t) whereas 600 mm UHP grade prices have rallied by 25% and are currently at INR 300,000 - 320,000/t ($4,030 - 4,300/t).
  
  
• SteelMint's bi-weekly assessment for India billets (150*150, BF route, FoB East coast) is $600-605/t, unchanged from last week.
  
  

Finished steel -

• Ending weeks of heated global market anticipation, China has finally annulled the 13% Value Added Tax (VAT) rebate on exports of 146 steel products from 01 May '21. It includes hot rolled coil (HRC), wire rod and re-bar as well as cold rolled and galvanized sheets. The Ministry also slashed the import duty on pig iron, crude steel and ferrous scrap to zero from May '21.
  
  
• Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has decided to advance its maintenance shutdown in Haryana factory, originally scheduled for June, to 01 to 09 May. This has been done primarily to make more oxygen available for medical needs.
  
  
• Taiwan's major steel producer is reported to have booked around 25,000-30,000 t HRC for export to Pakistan for June '21 delivery. The deal has been heard to have been concluded at around $960/t CFR basis, SteelMint learned from its Pakistan-based sources.
  
  

Ferro alloys -

• Indian ferrochrome prices went down after Chinese ferrochrome tender prices were released. Currently, the prices are hovering at around INR 85,000/t Ex-Jajpur. However, not many deals have been recorded this week.
  
  
• Indian Silicomanganese prices are down and the Oxygen supplies and uncertainity of lockdowns is adding to the ambiguity in the markets. Currently, the offers are at around INR 87,000-88,000/t ex-works in Raipur.
  
  
• According to a statement on China's finance ministry website, China has raised the export duty to 20% on Ferrochrome, which will come into effect from 1st May'21. However, this is unlikely to have an impact on the ferrochrome market as China is not an exporter of ferrochrome.