SteelMint: Sponge iron prices in India fall on weak buying activity - 4 Jan

Daily sponge iron prices in India fell in the range of INR 50-450/t due to weak buying activity and limited trades, as per SteelMint assessment. The lack of buying interest among market participants resulted in limited spot trades, while the semi-finished steel market saw dull buying activity. Overall, market participants are uncertain about price movements and are only procuring what they currently require. This lack of buying interest is reflected in limited spot trades being reported.

About 16,860 t of sponge iron transactions were recorded today in India as against 14,510 t on 3 January.

Trade dynamics

• Sponge iron CDRI (FeM 80%) prices in Rourkela were assessed at INR 32,750/t exw. About 1,800 t of sponge iron PDRI (FeM 77-79%) trade was recorded from Odisha today. Deals were concluded on DAP Raipur basis.
  
  
• Sponge iron PDRI (FeM 80%) prices in Raipur were assessed at INR 32,200/t exw. Active buying was observed in the market today at lower price levels. Though trades in finished steel remained sluggish, sizeable volumes of sponge iron were booked. Prices in northern region were also volatile today which affected pricing further.
  
  
• Sponge iron PDRI (FeM 80%) prices in Bellary were assessed at INR 30,500/t exw and CDRI prices stand at INR 32,000/t exw. Spot buying remained slow today due to falling billet prices, and the current downward trend in steel kept spot activity on the lower side throughout the day.
  
  
• Sponge iron PDRI (FeM 78%) prices in Durgapur were assessed at INR 32,050/t DAP.
  
  
• Sponge iron PDRI (FeM 78%) prices in Ramgarh were assessed by SteelMint at INR 30,900/t exw, and CDRI at INR 33,450/t exw today. The market was silent due to slow demand on low buying enquiries across the region.
  
  

It remains to be seen if this trend will continue in the coming days or whether prices will start to recover as buying activity picks up.

Rationale -

This index has been derived based on transactions, offers, bids and indicative price data sets. Transactions are considered as T1 and given a weightage of 50% whereas other data sets are considered as T2 and given a weightage of the balance 50%.

Click for detailed methodology

T1 - Trade, T2 - Offer/Bid/Indicative