SteelMint: PELLEX edges lower by INR 100/t in absence of active deals

SteelMint's bi-weekly domestic pellet (Fe 63%) index, PELLEX, stood at INR 10,400/tonne (t) DAP Raipur on 17 May 2022, edging down by around INR 100/t compared to the last assessment on 13 May. No significant deal has been reported so far this week.

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.
  
  
• No deal was reported hence not taken into consideration in this publishing window, hence, accorded 0% weightage for T1 trade.
  
  
• Ten (10) firm offers, bids and indicative prices were reported. Only eight (08) were taken for price calculation and given 100% weightage.
  
  
• SteelMint received two bids at around INR 9,650-10,150/t DAP Raipur, and only one was considered for calculation of the index.
  
  

Raipur-based pellet-maker Godawari Power and Ispat kept offers stable at INR 11,100/t exw ($144/t). Other pellet-makers in Raipur offerred Fe 63% grade at INR 10,700-10,800/t ($137-140/t) exw.

Jharsuguda producers also cut pellet offers to around INR 9,500/t exw.

Buyers are eagerly waiting for upcoming OMC iron ore auction results and price cuts from Raipur-based pellet makers. Meanwhile, no pellet deal has been done so far. State-run OMC has scheduled an auction for iron ore fines and lumps on 19 May 2022. Around 876,000 t of iron ore lumps and 1.23 mnt of fines will be put up for auction from OMC's mines in Odisha. The miner has decreased the base price for fines up to INR 800/t and for lump by up to INR 450/t as against the last auction on 18 April.

Pellet-based DRI (P-DRI, FeM 80%) prices in Raipur stood at INR 34,000/t exw, down by around INR 800/t w-o-w. However, on a daily basis, sponge iron prices decreased by around INR 200/t.

Indian pellets market overview:

Domestic pellet prices dropped across key regions.

• Pellet (Fe 63%) prices in Durgapur decreased by INR 350/t today to INR 9,000/t exw compared to the last assessment of INR 9,350/t on 13 May.
  
  
• Jindal SAW has sharply decreased pellet offers today. The current offer for Fe 63% pellet stands at INR 12,800/t ($165/t) DAP Kandla compared to offers of INR 13,200/t ($170/t) heard in the middle of April.
  
  

Region-wise offers and deals: