SteelMint: PELLEX rises by INR 450/t on active trading, surge in offers

SteelMint's bi-weekly domestic pellet (Fe 63%) index, PELLEX, stands at INR 9,950/tonne (t) DAP Raipur on 10 Dec'21, up by around INR 450/t against the last assessment on 7 Dec. Confirmed deals for around 75,000 t were reported at around INR 9,650-10,000/t DAP Raipur in this publishing window.

Central India-based pellet makers increased offers by around INR 400-500/t towards the middle of this week. Current offers are at INR 9,800-10,300/t exw-Raipur. Sellers in Odisha's Jharsuguda also increased offers by around INR 500/t.

As per sources, steelmakers in Raipur concluded quite a few deals before raising offers owing to tight availability of DR-CLO from NMDC. However, NMDC's iron ore supplies have reportedly improved in the last couple of days which may weigh on pellet bookings.

SteelMint's assessment for sponge iron, P-DRI (FeM 80%), in Raipur stood at INR 27,700/t exw, up sharply by around INR 600/t against last week. However, during the first half of today's trading session, P-DRI (FeM 80%) prices rose by INR 400/t to INR 28,000/t exw-Raipur. Prices headed north on supply issues. However, trades remained limited as both buyers and suppliers had sufficient orders.

Indian pellet market overview: The Indian pellet market witnessed an uptrend across pellet production hubs in the country, with prices rising by around INR 350-500/t.

Bellary pellet (Fe 63%) prices increased to INR 9,800-10,000/t as against INR 9,500-9,600t assessed on 7 Dec. Prices have increased on rebounding sponge iron offers and firm finished steel prices.

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.

  
  
  

• Three deals were reported, for around 75,000 t, in this publishing window and , hence, considered as T1 trade for calculation of the index; accorded 50% weightage.
  
  
• Seven (07) firm offers and indicative prices were reported. Five (05) were taken for price calculation and given 50% weightage.
  
  
• SteelMint received no bids for calculation of the index.
  
  

Region-wise pellet offers and deals: