SteelMint: PELLEX down INR 100/t in recent deals

SteelMint's bi-weekly domestic pellet (Fe 63%) index, PELLEX, has moved down marginally by INR 100/t to INR 13,100/t DAP Raipur on 29 Oct'21. Around 15,000 t deals were reported in this publishing window.

Central India-based pellet makers kept their offers stable for the domestic market, sources informed SteelMint. Current offers for pellets (Fe 63%) stand at INR 13,000-13,300/t exw-Raipur.

Offers from sellers in Odisha's Jharsuguda moved down further to INR 12,100-12,200/t exw. Raigarh-based pellet makers also cut offers to INR 12,000/t.

Buyers in Raipur are holding purchase decisions in expectation of a price cut in the coming days. Subdued export orders with producers in the region and limited domestic deals have resulted in increasing the inventory pressure on pellet producers.

Easing RB2 portside prices lower P-DRI prices: Portside prices of South African RB2 (5500 NAR) grade coal corrected by INR 1,700/t across key Indian ports over the course of this week, as the decline in imported coal prices continued.

Despite portside prices falling by more than INR 4,000/t in the last two weeks, domestic sponge iron manufacturers are assessing market conditions before committing to any major bookings.

Sponge P-DRI prices in Raipur moved down INR 800/t to INR 33,200/t exw, w-o-w. However, prices remained supported on active demand and a sizeable quantum of deals concluded on a daily basis.

Indian pellet market overview: The Indian pellet market continued its downtrend across regions. Offers fell by around INR 100-450/t today.

Iron ore pellet (Fe 63%) prices in Bellary dropped by around INR 450/t to INR 12,100-12,200/t as against INR 12,600/t assessed on 26 Oct.

Rationale:

• PELLEX has been derived using data points: i.e. trades, offers and bids. You can download the detailed methodology by clicking on this link Click here.
  
  
• Two deals were reported in this publishing window and therefore considered as T1 trade for calculation of the index, both accorded 50% weightage.
  
  
• Twelve (12) firm offers and indicative prices were reported. Four were from Raipur and the rest from outside the state capital. Eleven (11) were taken for the price calculation and given a weightage of 50%.
  
  
• SteelMint has received one bid at INR 11,650/t DAP Raipur but it was not taken for calculation of the index.
  
  

Region-wise pellet offers and deals: