Weekly round-up: Indian steel market stays subdued in festive season

Semi- finished steel prices registered a sharp fall during week 45 (1-6 Nov'21). Domestic billet prices fell by INR 200-1,000/t while sponge iron offers also fell sharply by INR 500-1,500/t across regions with a major drop of INR 1,000-1,500/t reported from southern India.

India's finished long steel market via the induction furnace (IF) route received dull response this week with prices declining by up to INR 1,000/t w-o-w.

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coils (HRCs), HR-plates and cold rolled coils (CRCs) remained flat this week

Iron ore and pellets

NMDC kept iron ore prices unchanged for Nov'21 deliveries. The company's sales from its Chhattisgarh mines were up 29%, m-o-m, in October. The prices for DR CLO (10-40mm, Fe 67%) were at INR 6,910/t, Baila lumps (6-40mm, Fe 65.5%) at INR 5,950/t and Baila fines (Fe 64%) at INR 4,760/t. Prices are on FOR basis and royalty and other taxes are extra.

State-owned miner Odisha Mining Corp (OMC) scheduled an e-auction for iron ore fines and lumps on 2 Nov'21). About 1.013 mn t of iron ore fines and 887,000 t of lumps were put up for auction. In the lumps e-auction, 780,000 t received bids. Bids in the auction increased by up to INR 3,200/t as against the base price, according to sources. The fines e-auction received bids for about 70% (708,000 t) of the total material. The bids, however, stayed flat, ie, at the base price level.

• SteelMint's India pellet export index (Fe 64%, 3% Al, FOB east coast) fell marginally by $5/t, w-o-w, to $142/t.
  
  
• SteelMint's weekly export index for low-grade Indian iron ore fines (Fe 57%) decreased by $3/t, w-o-w, to $27/t FOB east coast India.
  
  

Ferro alloys

The overall market saw a mixed trend with manganese alloys and ferro silicon prices going down, while ferro chrome prices improved this week.

• Silico manganese prices slumped this week as buyers were reluctant to book material at higher prices and started negotiating hard. The current market price for 60-14 grade is hovering at around INR 109,900-117,000/t exw for both Raipur and Durgapur, the two major manganese alloys producing regions in India.
  
  
• Ferro manganese prices declined due to lack of buying. According to SteelMint's assessment on 3 Nov'21, prices of ferro manganese decreased by INR 5,100-6,750/t to INR 126,000/t exw for both Durgapur and Raipur.
  
  
• Ferro chrome prices rose by INR 1,250/t to INR 123,000/t exw-Jajpur as the major stainless-steel producers hiked their purchase tender prices by RMB 500/t ($78/t) m-o-m to RMB 10,495/t ($1,642/t) for Nov'21.
  
  
• India ferro silicon prices increased by INR 2,750/t w-o-w to INR 268,250/t exw-Guwahati, due to maintaining parity with Bhutanese prices, which are at INR 265,000/t exw. Bhutan producers had decreased their prices, opening a new price for early November to attract good bookings for the month.
  
  

Semi-finished

On a weekly basis, domestic sponge offers fell sharply by INR 500-1,500/t across regions and the major fall in prices was reported from southern India, by INR 1,200-1,500/t. Similarly, low demand and falling sponge prices weighed on billet offers, which declined by INR 200-1,000/t.

• Indian sponge iron export offers were stable this week at around $480/t CPT Benapole, equivalent to $510/t CFR Chittagong, Bangladesh. About 2,000 t of deals were reported this week.
  
  
• Steel grade pig iron prices fell further on limited demand in the spot market following correction in steel prices. Prices fell by up to INR 900/t with a major fall of INR 800-900/t seen in the eastern region, followed by INR 100-400/t in the central and northern regions.
  
  
• IF-route billet export offers fell by $5-10/t, w-o-w, to $610/t exw-Durgapur, equivalent to $635-640/t, CPT Nepal, via road delivery. Amid the festive mood, very limited inquiries were reported this week.
  
  
• Vizag Steel rescheduled an e-auction for around 3,050 t of pooled iron on 9 Nov'21.
  
  
• SAIL held an auction for 1,000 t of basic grade pig iron on 3 Nov'21 from the IISCO Steel Plant and the entire quantity got booked at a weighted average price of INR 42,075/t exw.
  
  
• SAIL scheduled an auction for 8,000 t of steel grade pig iron from the Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) in Chhattisgarh on 9 Nov'21 and for 4,800 t of steel grade pig iron (in 48 units) from Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) on 8 Nov'21.
  
  
• Tata Metaliks reduced basic grade pig iron prices by INR 700/t ($10) to INR 45,500/t, while foundry grade pig iron offers were at INR 48,200/t exw-Kharagpur. Prices were applicable for Kolkata and Howrah.
  
  

Finished longs

Prices of long steel via the induction furnace route saw scarce transactions across major regions in the country. Prices declined by up to INR 1,000/t w-o-w except in the Goa, Delhi and Chennai markets as per SteelMint's assessment. The festive mood led to dull buying enquiries in the spot market which slowed down trading activities and forced manufacturers to adjust prices as per market requirements, sources said.

• The trade reference price of Fe 500 grade rebar steel manufactured via the IF route for 10-25 mm size is assessed at INR 49,700-50,000/t exw-Raipur, and at INR 51,500-52,000/t exw-Jalna.
  
  
• Trade discounts given by Raipur-based wire rod suppliers were up to INR 2,000/t and trade reference prices stood at INR 49,300-49,800/t exw-Raipur, INR 48,500-48,800/t exw-Durgapur, for size 5.5 mm.
  
  

Flat steel

SteelMint's benchmark price assessment for HRC, HR-plates and CRC remained flat this week as the festive mood kept markets muted. Activities will resume from Monday.

However, a few major private Indian mills announced an INR 2,000/t increase in HRC and CRC prices for Nov'21 dispatches earlier this week. After the said hike, the mills' list prices for HRCs (IS 2062, 2.5-8mm) stand at INR 71,500-72,500/t exy-Mumbai basis, while that of CRCs (IS 513 Gr O, 0.9mm) are at INR 80,500-81,500/t (exy-Mumbai). Prices mentioned are exclusive of GST @18%. Other mills are likely to follow suit.